J?  O  H  T 


OF 


JAMES    W.    TAYLOR, 


ON  THE 


MINERAL  RESOURCES 


OF   THE 


UNITED  STATES  EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING-  OFFICE 
1868. 


LETTER 


FROM 


THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY, 


TRANSMITTING 


Report  on  the  mineral  resources  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 


MAY  2,  18G8. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

Washington,  May  2,  1868. 

SIR  :  I  transmit  herewith  to  the  House  of  Representatives  the  report  of  James 
W.  Taylor  on  the  mineral  resources  of  the  States  and  Territories  east  of  the 
Kocky  mountains. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

HUGH  McCULLOCH, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Hon.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


REPORT 


OF 


JAMES   W.   TAYLOR, 

ON 

THE    MINERAL    RESOURCES    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES    EAST    OF    THE 

ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


WASHINGTON,  May  2,  1868. 

SIR:  In  pursuance  of  your  instructions  of  September  127  1866,  I  had  the 
honor  on  the  13th  of  February,  1867,  to  present  for  your  consideration  a  pre- 
liminary report,  embracing  a  general  view  of  the  gold  and  silver  districts  of  New 
Mexico,  Colorado,  Montana,  JJakota,  and  Minnesota,  with  some  notice  of  the  gold 
regions  of  the  southern  Atlantic  states,  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia.  The  present 
report  will  include  a  further  inquiry  into  the  mineral  resources  of  those  districts, 
with  special  reference  to  their  situation  and  prospects  at  the  expiration  of  the 
year  1867;  and  I  propose  as  a  not  inappropriate  sequel  to  devote  a  considerable 
portion  of  this  communication  (1)  to  a  general  review  of  the  production  of  gold 
and  silver  in  other  quarters  of  the  world,  with  the  purpose  of  indicating  rela- 
tively the  commercial  and  social  importance  of  the  treasure  product  of  the  United 
States,  and  (2)  to  a  summary  of  the  domestic  commerce  from  the  Mississippi 
river  westward  to  the  interior  or  mining  districts  of  the  United  States,  having 
reference  prominently  to  railway  communications  with  the  Rocky  mountains  and 
the  Pacific  coast. 

THE    GREAT  PLAINS. 

Between  the  agricultural  districts  of  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Indian  terri- 
tory, and  Texas,  which  extend  westwardly  to  the  98th  meridian  of  longitude, 
and  the  eastern  Piedmont  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  in  Colorado  are 
bounded  eastwardly  by  longitude  104°,  the  cretaceous  formation,  once  desig- 
nated as  the  u  American  desert,"  is  now  well  understood  to  be  adequate  for 
the  sustenance  of  cattle,  and  if  subterranean  sources  of  water  supply  were  avail- 
able for  the  purpose  of  irrigation,  might  become  an  agricultural  region.  At 
present  this  wide  interval  between  the  margin  of  the  Missouri  river,  where  the 
moist  winds  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  afford  a  sufficient  fall  of  summer  rain 
for  the  growth  and  maturity  of  crops,  and  the  Colorado  Piedmont,  with  its  limited 
capacity  for  irrigation  from  mountain  streams  and  surfaces,  is  recognized  as  a 
grazing  district,  bearing  the  nutritious  buffalo  grass,  and  reasonably  traversed 
by  streams — conditions  only  favorable  to  pastoral  occupation  and  a  sparse  popu- 
lation. If,  however,  the  experiment  of  artesian  wells  should  be  vigorously 
prosecuted,  and  prove  successful,  the  occupation  of  the  plains  might  be  greatly 
diversified.  The  government  in  1858  despatched  a  party  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Captain  John  Pope  to  the  Llano  Estacado  of  western  Texas,  an  extension 
of  the  cretaceous  formation  of  eastern  Colorado,  for  the  purpose  of  sinking  an 
artesian  well  5  but  although  a  depth  of  1,050  feet  was  attained,  and  powerful 
streams  flowed  into  the  well  at  different  levels,  the  water  did  not  rise  to  die  sur- 
face, and  the  work  was  abandoned.  It  was  by  no  means  a  failure ;  the  discovery 


4          RESOURCES  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

of  subterranean  streams  or  fountains  accessible;  from  the  surface,  being  very  sug- 
gestive of  the  possibilities  of  future  water  supply.* 

1STSW   MEXICO. 

During  1867  the  public  attention  was  occupied  by  very  favorable  reports  of 
the  mineral  resources  of  New  Mexico.  The  Kansas  division  of  the  Union  Pacific 
railroad,  while  not  relinquishing  the  policy  of  a  direct  western  communication 
with  Denver  and  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  determined  to  place  a  party  in  the  field 
to  explore  a  southwestern  line  from  the  junction  of  longitude  102°  with  latitude 
39°  to  a  crossing  of  the  Eio  Grande  at  Albuquerque,  latitude  35°,  longitude 
106J°,  and  thence  westwardly  through  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  and  southern  Cali- 
fornia, on  or  near  the  35th  parallel. 

The  results  of  this  exploration  fully  confirming  the  observations  of  Lieutenant 
Whipple  in  1853-'54,  have  established  that  gold,  silver,  and  copper  mines  are 
as  numerous  and  valuable  as  in  Colorado;  and  also  that  beds  of  lignite -coal 
occur  around  the  western  end  of  Raton  mountain,  and  the  neighboring  foot-hills 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  while  a  formation  of  early  cretaceous  coal  has  been 
discovered  in  the  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande.  The  first  coal  basin  consists  of  an 
immense  thickness  of  coarse  sandstones,  first  manifesting  themselves  in  some  of 
the  ravines  of  the  Raton,  a"bout  20  miles  east  of  Raton  Pass,  but  soon  becoming 
visible  on  the  flanks  of  the  mountain,  continuing  through  the  pass,  and  to  an 
unknown  distance  west  of  it.  This  formation  lies  nearly  horizontally  against 
the  base  of  the  Raton  and  Rocky  mountains,  extending  the  latter  from  the 
Arkansas  river  at  Canon  City  to  the  valley  of  the  Little  Cimarron  on  the  south. 
In  the  Raton  Pass  the  coal  beds,  which  are  quite  thin  in  the  Manco  del  Barro 
Pass,  begin  to  assume  importance.  About  six  miles  from  Trinidad,  a  locality 
exhibits  a-  total  thickness  of  about  five  feet  of  good  coal,  separated  into  four 
beds,  placed  near  together.  Near  the  top  of  the  pass  are  also  beds  of  the  same 
thickness,  but  at  the  southern  exit  of  the  pass,  in  canons  connected  with  upper 
waters  of  the  Canadian,  there  called  Red  river,  these  beds  occur  in  still  greater 
magnitude,  being  eight  feet  thick.  All  these  are,  however,  of  trifling  nature 
compared  with  the  great  beds  found  ki  the  canons  of  the  Vermejo  valley,  which 
show  in  one  locality  10  feet  of  coal  in  two  beds,  separated  by  10  inches  of  slate. 
The  same  strata  were  found  on  the  other  side  of  the  canon,  one-half  mile  distant, 
and  in  other  canons  several  miles  westward.  Further  south  other  thinner  beds 
were  seen  near  Vermejo  of  the  thickness  of  three  and  four  feet  of  good  coal. 
Beyond  the  Pernejo  the  high  table  lands  containing  the  coal  beds  disappear 
entirely,  and  the  only  sedimentary  rock  in  view  is  the  early  cretaceous '  sand- 
stone, capped  in  places  with  middle  cretaceous  limestone.  As  the  high  table 
land  of  tertiary  sandstone  extends  north  of  the  Raton,  it  is  probable  that  similar 
beds  exist  in  that  direction.  Coal  has  also  been  discovered  on  the  Rio  Grande 
in  various  places  above  Piedras  Ncgras,  as  well  as  below  in  the  vicinity  of 
Laredo,  Gurrero,  and  Roma.t 

The  discoveries  of  gold-bearing  quartz,  first  limited  to  the  Gregory  district, 
in  Colorado,  extending  about  30  miles  along  the  base  of  the  Snowy  range,  from 
Gold  Hill  to  Empire  City,  now  reach  the  southern  limit  of  Colorado,  and  thence 
along  the  Sierra  Madre,  following  the  general  course  of  the  valley  of  the  Rio 

*In  1867,  at  Chicago  an  artesian  well,  at  the  depth  of  1,190  feet,  struck  a  subterranean 
stream,  eight  feet  in  depth,  and  flowing  with  a  strong  current,  from  which  600,000  gallons 
daily  are  delivered  at  the  surface,  and  450,000  gallons  daily  at  an  elevation  of  45  feet.  Pre- 
viously a  vein  of  water  had  been  reached  at  a  depth  of  90  feet,  which  yielded  15  barrels  an 
hour.  (See  Appendix  No.  ]  for  a  narrative  by  Professor  D.  D.  Owen  of  other  experiments 
within  the  United  States  and  elsewhere. ) 

t  The  value  of  coal  in  the  reduction  of  ores,  as  well  as  for  uses  of  fuel,  justifies  all  possible 
details  of  the  recent  discoveries  in  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  foregoing  report  is  by  Dr.  J. 
L.  Le  Conte,  who  accompanied  General  W.  W.  Wright,  chief  engineer  of  Union  Pacific 
railway,  eastern  division,  upon  the  expedition  already  mentioned. 


t 

EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  5 

Grande  through  the  whole  extent  of  New  Mexico  and  into  the  adjacent  State 
of  Chihuahua.  Successful  placer  mining  by  the  Mexican  residents  of  this  val- 
ley has  often  been  reported  in  the  mountain  gulches  near  Santa  Fe,  south  to  a 
distance  of  about  100  miles,  or  as  far  as  Gran  Quivira,  and  north  for  about  120 
miles  to  the  river  Sangre  de  Cristo.  This  stream  is  just  within  the  territory  of 
Colorado,  but  20  miles  south  of  the  boundary  line  is  the  locality  of  the  Moreno 
mines,  which  attracted  much  attention  during  1867.  They  are  situated  near 
but  west  of  the  Eaton  mountains,  about  30  miles  north  of  Taos,  Moro  county, 
New  Mexico.  Four  pounds  of  the  ore  from  a  well-defined  quartz  vein  recently 
opened  are  said  to  have  yielded  78  cents  of  gold,  or  at  the  rate  of  $390  to  the 
ton.  An  important  circumstance  is  added,  that  the  quartz  contains  only  free 
gold,  without  sulphurets.  In  a  specimen  taken  from  the  vicinity  of  the  surface 
and  forwarded  to  Colorado,  thread  gold  could  be  traced  through  the  mass  of 
quartz.  The  opportunities  for  gulch  mining  have  already  attracted  a  considera- 
ble American  population.  The  Placer  mountain,  about  30  miles  from  Santa 
Fe,  within  the  past  year  has  been  worked  under  an  efficient  organization  and 
with  satisfactory  results.  The  average  yield  of  the  auriferous  rock  is  $30  to  the 
ton.  The  veins  are  numerous,  well  defined,  and  accessible  within  a  district  of 
10  miles  square.  Another  locality  of  much  interest  is  Pinos  Altos,  under  lati- 
tude 33°,  longitude  108°.  The  enterprise  of  working  these  mines  seems  to  be 
under  efficient  direction.  Upon  one  of  the  lodes  a  tunnel  has  already  been 
drifted  713  feet,  and  when  completed  to  the  distance  of  1,600  feet,  will  have 
passed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Madre.  Midway 
it  passes  under  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  from  which  a  shaft  of  121  feet  con- 
nects the  summit  with  the  tunnel.  The  ore  contains  gold,  silver,  and  a  small 
proportion  of  copper.  The  village  of  Pinos  Altos  is  at  an  elevation  of  5,000 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  vicinity  presents  unusual  advantages  of  waod,  water, 
and  surface  for  mining  operations,  and,  with  the  fullest  allowance  for  exaggera- 
tion as  to  the  number  and  richness  of  the  lodes,  there  seems  but  little  doubt 
that,  with  the  pacification  of  the  Indian  tribes  and  further  facilities  of  transpor- 
tation, it  will  become  an  important  mining  centre. 

The  foregoing  seem  to  be  the  most  prominent  gold-bearing  districts  of  New 
Mexico  j  but  some  20  localities  are  mentioned  by  mining  journals,  among  which 
are  quartz  veins  at  San  Jose,  in  the  Sierra  Madre,  intersecting  each  other  in  all 
directions  for  a  mile  in  width  and  three  miles  in  length  j  a  similar  formation  near 
Fort  Davis,  Texas,  and  extensive  placer  mines  on  the  San  Francisco  and  Mim- 
bres  rivers. 

Silver,  however,  with  its  many  combinations,  is  the  most  abundant  mineral  of 
the  Territory.  The  prominently  argentiferous  districts  are  the  Placer  mountains, 
near  Santa  Fe;  the  Organ  mountains,  near  the  Mesilla  valley;  and  the  Sierra 
Madre,  at  Pinos  Altos.  The  first  and  last  of  these  localities  are,  as  we  have 
seen,  gold-producing  also.  In  the  Organ  mountains  over  50  silver  mines  have 
been  discovered,  the  ore  being  generally  argentiferous  galena.  The  district 
near  Mesilla  valley,  in  the  Organ  mountains,  has  a  mean  altitude  of  4,400  feet, 
and  is  intersected  with  ravines,  affording  favorable  opportunities  for  horizontal 
drifts  in  opening  the  veins.  The  country  bordering  on  the  north  portion  of 
Chihuahua  is  a  rich  silver  district.  Immediately  adjoining  the  Mexican  bound- 
ary are  the  mines  of  Corralitos,  the  most  successful  silver  mines  in  the  State  of 
Chihuahua,  having  been  mined  for  40  years  in  a  region  most  exposed  to  Indian 
hostility.  Near  the  old  town  of  El  Paso  tradition  places  the  locality  of»one  of 
the  richest  silver  mines  known  to  the  Spaniards,  but  its  site  was  lost  during  the 
Indian  insurrection  of  1680. 

Dr. 'A.'  Wizlizenns,  who  accompanied  a  military  expedition  in  1847  as  surgeon 
and  naturalist,  mentions  that  during  the  Spanish  occupation  several  rich  silver 
mines  were  worked  at  Avo,  at  Cerillos,  and  in  the  Nambe  mountains,  but  none 
at  present.  Copper  is  found  in  abundance  throughout  the  country,  but  prinei- 


6  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

pally  at  Los  Tijeras,  Jemas,  Abiqnin,  Gnadelupita  de  Mora,  Iron  is  equally 
abundant.  Gypsum,  both  common  and  selenite,  is  found  in  large  quantities, 
extensive  layers  of  it  existing  in  the  mountains  near  Algodones,  on  the  Rio 
Grande,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  celebrated  Salinas.  It  is  used  as  com- 
mon lime,  and  the  crystalline  or  selenite  is  a  substitute  for  window  glass.  About 
100  miles  southeast  o'f  Santa  Fe,  on  the  high  table  land  between  the  Rio  Grande 
and  Pecos,  are  some  extensive  salt  lakes  or  salinas,  from  which  the  inhabitants 
of  New  Mexico  are  supplied. 

The  leading  copper  mines  of  New  Mexico  may  be  thus  enumerated  and 
described:  1.  Hanover,  discovered  in  1860;  situated  on  the  headwaters  of  the 
Mimbres  river,  about  six  miles  east  of  Fort,  Bayard;  ore  a  virgin  copper,  found 
in  extensive  pockets  in  the  bed  rock,  varying  in  quantities  from  100  to  300 
pounds,  and  combined  with  sufficient  gold  to  defray  the  expenses  of  working. 
2.  Santa  Rita,  in  the  same  vicinity,  worked  by  the  Spaniards  nearly  a  century 
and  a  half  ago  •  ore  a  rich  oxide,  and  found  in  veins  of  varying  thickness,  the 
lower  being  virgin  copper,  which  can  be  drawn  under  the  hammer  as  it  comes 
from  the  mine ;  supposed  to  be  an  extension  of  the  Hanover.  3.  Pinos  Altos, 
associated  with  the  extensive  gold  and  silver  formation  previously  mentioned ;  a 
very  extensive  copper  deposit,  and  favorably  situated  in  respect  to  wood  and 
water.  4.  Arroyo  Honda,  situated  north  of  Taos  and  close  to  the  Colorado 
line,  from  which  specimens  of  copper  have  been  exhibited  at  the  United  States 
mint  and  pronounced  equal  to  the  amygdaloid  of  Lake  Superior.  5.  Nacie- 
mento,  situated  about  40  miles  south-southwest  from  Santa  Fe,  in  the  Los  Valles 
mountains,  in  the  same  range  as  the  Placer  mountain  ;  vein  from  30  to  40  feet 
wide,  and  occasionally  intersected  by  deposits  of  white  sandstone ;  assay  of  ore, 
copper,  71;  silver,  4;  iron,  12;  unexamined  scoria,  13.  6.  Ocatc,  near  Santa 
F6}  vein  12  to  20  feet  wide  and  assays  64  per  cent,  of  pure  copper.  7.  Tijera, 
situated  in  the  Tijera  canon,  near  the  line  of  the  35th  parallel ;  surface  ore 
alloyed  with  silver,  but  in  descending  the  copper  combines  with  gold.  8.  New 
Mexico,  a  formation  of  the  Placer  mountain,  very  extensive,  and  under  the  same 
administration  as  the  gold  mines  of  that  locality.  For  many  years  much  of  the 
copper  ore  of  New  Mexico  has  been  transported  to  Indianola,  Texas,  a  distance 
of  1,000  miles,  and  the  amount  of  the  gold  associated  with  the  copper  lias  always 
been  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  transportation.* 

COLORADO. 

This  interesting  Temtory  has  been  fortunate  during  the  ,y ear  just  closed  in 
the  publication  of  an  attractive  picture  of  its  mountain  scenery,  by  Bayard 
Taylor ;  an  exhaustive  work  upon  its  "  mining  organizations  and  prospects," 
by  O.  J.  Hollister  j  and  a  careful  collation  of  its  mineral  and  other  products  at 
the  Paris  Exposition,  under  the  direction  of  Commissioner  J.  P.  Whitney. 
Very  free  reference  will  be  made  to  these  authentic  sources  of  information. 

The  agricultural  section  of  Colorado,  called  by  its  people  the  valley,  extends 
eastward  from. the  base  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  with  an  area  of  30,000,000 
acres,  of  which  one-sixth  is  susceptible  of  irrigation,  and  is  therefore  arable. 
The  next  division  is  the  Foot-hills  with  its  subdivision,  the  great  mineral  belt. 
Then  follows  the  Snowy  range,  or  the  range  with  its  system  of  parks — the 
crest  or  sierra  of  the  mountain  mass — while  "  over  the  range"  includes  all  west 
of  the  continental  divide.  The  entire  area  is  103,475  square  miles,  or 
67,723,520  acres. 

Until  recently  the  gold  formation  of  the  Foot-hills  was  the  first  object  of 
interest  to  mineralogists  after  leaving  the  plains  ;  but,  with  the  extension  of  the 
Union'  Pacific  railway,  the  probability  of  an  adequate  coal  formation  fully 
divides  attention.  With  the  exploration  of  the  valleys  which  debouch  from  the 

*  Letter  to  Philadelphia  Press  from  member  of  Pacific  Railway  exploration  in  1867. 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  7 

first  elevations  of  the  Rocky  mountains  a  lignite  lias  been  discovered  upon  the 
Yellowstone  of  Montana,  the  Platte  of  Colorado,  and  the  Kio  Grande  of  New 
Mexico,  while  within  the  parks  at  a  greater  elevation  deposits  are  found  similar 
to  the  Albertine  coal  of  New  Brunswick  upon  the  Atlantic  coast.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  the  bituminous  beds  of  Iowa  and  Missouri,  disappearing  under  the 
cretaceous  masses  of  the  plains,  may  reappear  with  the  upheaval  of  the  moun- 
tains in  a  condition  highly  metamorphosed,  if  not  in  the  form  of  anthracite. 
The  veins  of  lignite  first  mentioned  have  a  general  direction  north  and  south 
along  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  are  accessible  where  the  mountain  streams 
traverse  the  Foot-hills. 

The  most  prominent  discovery  of  coal  in  Colorado  is  on  South  Boulder  creek, 
about  two  miles  from  the  base  of  the  mountains,  15  miles  from  Denver,  and  15 
miles  from  Golden  City,  the  latter  being  the  centre  of  the  gold  mining  district. 
In  regard  to  the  character  and  quality  of  this  deposit  Dr.  J.  V.  Hay  den,  United 
States  geologist,  reports  that  there  are  at  least  10  beds  from  5  to  13  feet  in 
thickness,  belonging  to  the  tertiary  period  and  of  the  lignite  variety.  It  is  non- 
bituminous  and  holds  a  position  between  dry  wood  and  the  anthracites  of  Penn- 
sylvania; bums  with  a  bright  red  flame,  giving  abundant  heat  and  very  little 
ash — 2  per  cent,  of  ash  and  58  of  carbon.  Associated  with  these  coal  beds 
are  veins  of  iron  ore  of  the  red  or  brown  hematite.  The  value  of  coal  and 
iron  deposits,  with  reference  to  the  construction  and  use  of  machinery  for  reduc- 
ing' and  smelting  ores,  is  quite  apparent.  * 

The  localities  in  which  gold  is  most  plentifully  found  are  in  the  counties  of 
Boulder,  Gilpin,  Clear  Creek,  Jefferson,  and  the  extreme  southeastern  part  of 
Summit.  Although  it  is  evident  that  many  other,  sections  contain  gold-bearing 
veins  no  great  amount  of  attention  has  been  bestowed  upon  them,  and  the  prin- 
cipal amount  of  mining  has  been  done  in  the  counties  of  Gilpin  and  Clear 
Creek.  The  gold  veins  proper,  found  wholly  in  granite  formation,  vary  in 
width  from  a  scarcely  perceptible  streak  to  40  and  even  50  feet,  but  seldom 
averaging  over  four  or  five  feet.  When  discovered  from  the  surface  the  vein  is 
indicated  by  a  light  porous  quartz,  discolored  by  the  oxidation  of  base  metals, 
in  which  small  particles  of  gold  are  disseminated  sometimes  in  the  form  of  small 
scales,  fine  dust,  or  stringy  pieces,  but  seldom  in  masses  of  any  size.  The  value 
of  veins  is  usually  determined  by  the  miners  by  crushing  to  a  fine  powder  in  a 
hand  mortar  a  few  pieces  of  surface  ore,  the  powder  being  carefully  washed  with 
water  in  a  hand  pan.  This  consists  in  giving  the  pan  a  peculiar  motion  which 
settles  the  gold  at  the  bottom,  the  fine  particles  of  earth  and  quartz  being  care- 
fully floated  off.  It  is  seldom  that  surface  ore  is  found  so  poor  as  not  to  exhibit 
from  a  few  pieces  so  treated,  a  streak  of  fine  gold  dust  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pan.  From  some  veins  pieces  can  be  readily  found,  by  a  little  search,  showing 
specks  of  gold  up  to  the  size  of  pin  heads.  Sometimes  streaks  of  white  and 
yellow  earths  are  found  in  surface  ores,  which  yield  from  $5  to  $60  to  the  pan- 
ful of  12  or  15  pounds.  When  such  streaks  are  found  large  amounts  are  often 
obtained  from  them.  The  surface  ore,  generally  quite  soft  and  porous  at  the 
top,  gradually  grows  harder  and  more  compact  as  it  recedes  from  the  oxidizing 
effects  of  the  atmosphere,  and  is  finally  lost  in  the  glittering  sulplmrets  of  iron 
and  copper  which  takes  its  place,  being  equally  rich  in  gold,  and  oftentimes  a 
vast  deal  richer,  having  in  addition  a  large  percentage  of  silver,  and  often- 
times an  amount  of  copper  equivalent  to  25  per  cent,  of  bulk.  The  surface  ore, 
when  found  in  veins  of  ordinary  width  and  richness,  is  stripped  from  the  veins 
until  the  sulplmrets  are  met  with,  and  is  submitted  to  the  ordinary  process  of 
amalgamation  on  large  copper  plates  coated  with  quicksilver,  or  in  large  iron  or 
wooden  pans,  the  ore  being  scoured  by  revolving  spars  of  iron  or  masses  of  stone. 


*  SSee  appendix  No.  2  for  aii  abstract  of  Professor  Hayden's  observations  on  "The  Lig- 
nites of  tho  West,"  originally  published  in  Silliman's  Journal  of  March, 


8  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

In  this  manner  surface  ores  are  made  to  pay  good  profits,  and  in  some  instances 
very  large  amounts. 

The  tracts  containing  gold  veins,  designated  as  belts,  seem  to  have  a  uniform 
course  northeast  by  southwest,  cropping  out  in  some  localities,  and  then  disap- 
pearing from  the  surface  to  be  found  beyond  in  their  continuation.  In  places, 
by  some  natural  convulsions  of  nature  at  an  early  period,  they  are  broken  and 
distorted  from  the  regularity  which  marks  them  elsewhere,  and  for  acres  in 
extent  the  surface  of  the  earth  is  discolored  by  the  peculiar  blossom  which  indi- 
cates the  presence  of  sulphurets  below.  Such  tracts,  when  water  can  be  brought 
to  them,  are  sluiced  to  great  profit. 

A  peculiarity  of  the  Colorado  gold  veins  is  that  they  arc  invariably  found 
richer  the  deeper  they  are  sunk  upon.  This  rule  seenis  to  be  without  exception, 
and  in  no  instance  is  a  vein  lost  except  by  a  break-off  in  the  adjoining  forma- 
tion. Gold  is  not  found  to  any  great  extent  in  a  free  state  after  leaving  the  sur- 
face ores.  The  great  percentage  of  the  precious  metal  is  found  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  the  sulphurets  of  iron,  copper,  silver,  lead,  antimony,  and  arsenic. 
Iron  predominates  over  the  other  metals,  often  comprising  from  30  to  40  per 
cent,  of  the  crevice  matter.  Copper  is  almost  invariably  represented,  and  few 
veins  show  less  than  from  three  to  five  per  cent,  of  this  metal,  and  many  exhibit 
from  15  to  20  per  cent.  This  metal  increases  almost  invariably  as  the  veins  are 
sunk  upon,  showing  a  tendency  to  assume  the  .form  of  sulphate  as  it  descends. 
In  the  copper,  particularly  the  sulphate,  is  found  the  greatest  percentage  of  gold, 
often  giving  an  assay  exceeding  $2,000  to  the  ton  of  2,000  pounds.  Miles  of 
shafts  have  been  sunk  and  tunnels  run  in  Colorado,  but  no  single  shaft  or  tun- 
nel has  yet  attained  any  great  depth. 

Shafts  have  been  sunk  upon  the  Gold  Dirt,  Bobtail,  and  Gregory  lodes,  to  a 
depth  of  between  300  to  400  feet,  in  every  instance  exhibiting  ore  oi'  surpassing 
richness.  The  great  majority  of  shafts,  however,  from  want  of  means  and  from 
ignorance  of  the  true  method  of  treating  the  ores  found,  have  not  been  sunk 
more  than  sufficiently  deep  to  demonstrate  the  value  of  the  lodes  they  are  upon. 

The  gold-mining  regions  are  easily  reached  from  the  plains  below,  and  are 
connected  by  good  roads.  Streams,  having  sufficient  water  and  fall  to  furnish 
unlimited  power  for  mining  purposes,  are  plentiful.  The  valleys  and  agricul- 
tural lands,  though  being  less  sheltered  and  productive  than  those  upon  the 
western  side  of  the  range  or  the  plains,  below,  are  sufficiently  fertile  to  furnish 
more  than  a  much  larger  population  can  consume.  Timber,  also,  is  plentiful, 
and  the  climate,  though  uncertain  in  its  temperature  during  the  summer,  is  not 
attended  in  winter  with  that  severity  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Atlantic  sea-coast 
towns  of  the  same  latitude. 

Within  the  last  year  a  considerable  quantity  of  ore,  taken  from  several  mines, 
was  freighted  across  the  plains  to  the  river,  and  forwarded  to  Swansea,  in  Wales, 
that  it  might  be  experimented  upon  by  the  skilled  experience  employed  there. 
No  difficulty  was  found  in  working  the  ore  in  Swansea,  which  gave  yields  of 
between  $200  and  $300  to  the  ton,  the  same  ore  not  yielding  over  $10  or  $15 
to  the  ton  by  the  stamp-and-pan  mills  in  Colorado,  yet  paying  a  profit  from  that 
amount.  , 

No  accurate  estimates  can  be  made  of  the  amount  of  gold  obtained  from  Col- 
orado, particularly  during  the  earlier  days,  owing  to  the  irregular  methods  of 
remitting  in  vogue  ;  but  probably  not  less  than  $30,000,000  have  been  obtained 
within  the  limits  of  the  Territory  from  1859  up  to  the  present  time — not  a  large 
amount  when  compared  with  the  yield  from  other  more  advanced  mining  regions 
during  the  same  time,  but  a  large  sum  considering  the  small  number  of  people 
engaged  in  obtaining  it,  their  isolation  from  settled  regions,  their  Indian  difficul- 
ties, and  the  destructive  influences  of  the  civil  war  raging  at  the  same  time  in 
the  United  States. 

Silver  is  found  in  all  the  gold  mining  districts  of  Colorado,  associated  with 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  9 

the  ores  containing  gold,  in  tlie  galena  particularly,  whicli  is  found  at  times  in 
considerable  quantity.  It  is  always  present,  but  not  sufficiently  plentiful  to  be 
a  feature  of  value  in  the  gold  mines  j  yet  large  masses  have  lately  been  obtained 
by  the  smelting  process  from  ores  considered  strictly  gold-bearing,  and  it  is  quite 
evident  that  in  future,  with  the  advantages  of  improved  processes,  this  metal 
will  be  freely  obtained.  But  not  until  within  the  last  two  years  was  it  generally 
known  in  Colorado  that  immense  belts  of  silver  veins,  separate  from  the  gold, 
existed  upon  the  western  declivities  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  corresponding 
in  their  direction  and  general  features  with  those  of  gold  upon  the  eastern  side. 
The  prevailing  great  richness  in  silver  in  the  ores  of  Griffith  and  Argentine  dis- 
tricts, in  Clear  Creek  county,  upon  the  head  waters  of  South  Clear  creek,  some 
13  miles  distant  from  the  towns  of  Central  and  Black  Hawk,  and  correspond- 
ingly near  to  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  range,  first  attracted  particular  attention 
to  the  element  of  silver.  In  these  districts  silver  ores  of  great  richness  have 
been  discovered,  masses  being  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exposrtion  from  the  Baker 
lode,  of  Argentine  district,  and  of  the  Elijah  Hise  and  Endigo  lodes,  of  Griffith 
district,  which  assay  respectively,  in  silver  alone,  $532  12,  $1,656  20,  and 
$1,804  83  to  the  ton  of  2,000  pounds  of  ore.  These  veins  were  followed  to  an 
altitude  previously  unknown  in  mining  experience  in  Colorado.  Enterprising 
men  were  soon  engaged  in  prospecting  the  regions  corresponding  upon  the  other 
side  of  the  range,  whicli  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  immense  deposits  of  rich 
argentiferous  galena.  The  black  sulphurets  of  silver,  antimonial  silver  ores, 
rich  chlorides,  ruby  silver  ore,  and  pieces  of  native  silver  were  found,  and  a  new 
region,  the  extent  of  which  has  not  yet  been  determined,  was  thrown  open  to 
the  attention  of  those  who  might  have  the  curiosity  to  examine  it. 

Much  excitement  was  occasioned  in  Colorado  by  this  discovery,  and  a  large 
number  of  prospectors  were  soon  engaged  there,  making  discoveries  and  pre- 
emptions under  the  liberal  laws  of  the  Territory,  whicli  gave  undisputed  pos- 
session to  discoverers  who  should  have  their  claims  recorded  in  the  county  office, 
after  making  the  developments  and  improvements  required  by  law. 

That  portion  of  the  silver  region  first  opened  is  situated  in  Summit  county, 
upon  the  head  waters  of  the  Snake  and  Swan  rivers,  whicli  flow  into  the  Blue 
river,  a  tributary  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  which  flows  into  the  Gulf  of  California. 
An  examination  of  the  region  a  few  miles  southwest,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Ten  Mile  creek,  another  tributary  of  the  Blue,  led  to  the  discovery  of  still  more 
wonderful  exhibits  of  mineral  wealth  than  were  found  in  the  Snake  river  region. 
Veins  of  great  width  and  prominence  were  found,  which,  in  some  instances, 
could  be  distinguished  by  their  discolored  surface  ores,  when  miles  distant, 
seaming  the  mountain  sides  like  gigantic  roads,  measuring  from  20  to  50  feet  in 
width.  In  this  region  the  result  of  violent  volcanic  action  is  evident  by  the 
great  height  of  many  peaks,  their  abrupt  and  broken  sides,  and  by  the  immense 
masses  of  lava  and  scoria  whicli  abound.  Not  far  distant  are  hot  saline  and 
sulphur  springs,  as  well  as  deposits  of  dry  salt. 

Fletcher  mountain,  in  Ten-mile  district,  where  the  richest  mines  yet  discovered 
are  found,  may  be  designated,  if  the  application  be  a  proper  one,  the  predom- 
inant peak  or  watershed  of  the  continent.  From  each  side  of  this  mountain 
rise  streams,  (Gilpin  and  Clinton,)  which,  flowing  into  Ten  Mile  creek,  empty 
into  the  Grand,  and  then  into  the  Rio  Colorado — in  fact,  being  the  head  waters 
and  origin  of  that  great  stream  which,  originating  at  an  altitude  of  over  two 
miles  above  tide-water,  in  a  region  teeming  with  mineral  wealth,  seeks  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific  through  a  region  which  is  one  vast  field  of  metallic  treasure,  but 
which  lies  deserted,  neglected,  and  comparatively  unknown.  Upon  the  western, 
near  the  base,  are  numerous  rivulets,  emptying  into  the  Blue,  another  tributary 
of  the  Rio  Colorado.  Southward  from  Fletcher  mountain  a  lew  miles,  so  near 
Ten  Mile  creek  that  the  waters  almost  mingle,  rises  the  Arkansas  river,  Sowing 
into  the  Mississippi.  To  the  south,  not  many  miles  further,  rise  the  head  waters 


10  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  At  the  south- 
eastern base  of  Fletcher  mountain  rises  the  South  Platte  river,  which,  striking 
north,  circles  over  the  great  plains,  irrigating  the  soil  in  its  passage,  and  supply- 
ing water  to  tens  of  thousands  who  yearly  make  their  migrations  to  the  promising 
lands  of  the  far  west. 

During  the  short  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  discovery  of  the  silver 
mining  regions  good  roads  have  been  made,  connecting  them  with  the  more 
settled  sections  of  the  Territory,  from  Snake  river  mines  to  Denver,  by  way  of 
Breckinridge,  the  county-seat  of  Summit  county,  and  from  Ten  "Mile  district  to 
Denver,  by  way  of  the  Arkansas  river  and  the  South  Park.  In  both  sections 
a  large  number  of  shafts  have  been  sunk  upon  the  principal  rivers  to  a  depth 
of  from  20  to  60  feet,  some  of  which  have  exhibited  an  abundance  of  rich  ore. 
In  Ten  Mile  district  miners  were  engaged  during  the  past  winter — in  the  employ 
of  eastern  capitalists,  who  subscribed  a  large  sum  for  the  purpose — in  driving  a 
tunnel  from  the  base  of  Fletcher  mountain  to  its  centre,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining, from  ore  taken  at  a  great  depth,  the  true  value  of  veins  which  presented 
such  indications  of  wealth  upon  the  surface.  This  tunnel,  commencing  at  a 
height  of  about  60  feet  above  the  water-line  of  the  district,  had  been  driven 
through  the  solid  rock  (of  which  the  mountains,  beneath  a  thin  coating  of  earth, 
are  almost  entirely  composed)  to  a  depth  of  about  300  feet,  and  will  be  steadily 
prosecuted  until  it  reaches,  at  a  depth  of  from  600  to  800  feet,  a  large  vein 
known  as  the  Campton,  which  exhibits  upon  the  surface,  for  over  a  mile  in 
length,  a  crevice,  which  has  a  uniform  width  of  10  feet,  and  which  has  given 
from  shafts  sunk  upon  it  some  of  the  richest  ore  obtained  in  the  district. 

From  the  silver  mines  of  Summit  county  76  assays  were  made  during  the 
past  year  by  Albert  Reichenecker,  a  graduate  of  the'Polytechnic  School  of  the 
kingdom  of  Wurtemburg,  and  who  served  the  state  government  of  that  king- 
dom nine  years  as  chemist  and  engineer  of  mines,  who  obtained  an  average 
assay  of  $121  64  to  the  ton  of  2,000  pounds;  and  deposes  that  said  ores  taken 
for  assay  were  only  a  fair  average  of  the  ore  from  the  mines  from  which  they 
were  respectively  taken,  and  that  they  came  from  a  depth  not  exceeding  20  feet, 
and  in  most  cases  from  within  five  feet  of  the  surface. 

From  30  assays,  made  by  Fred.  Eckfeldt,  melter  and  refiner  at  the  United 
States  branch  mint  at  Denver,  an  average  assay  was  obtained  of  $130  28  to 
the  ton  of  2,000  pounds ;  Eckfeldt  deposing  that  the  ores  so  assayed  were  but 
a  fair  average  of  the  mines  from  which  ^they  were  taken. 

The  silver  mining  regions  abound  in* many  streams,  which  have  their  sources 
in  the  immense  masses  of  snow  found  always  upon  the  high  mountain  peaks 
These  streams,  being  fed  by  thousands  of  small  rivulets  and  springs,  gain  in  a 
short  distance  immense  force  and  volume,  giving  unfailing  freshness  to  the  rich 
grasses,  flowers,  wild  fruits,  and  lofty  trees  found  in  the  valleys  they  traverse. 

At  a  height  of  12,000  feet,  in  these  regions,  timber  disappears,  though  rich 
pasturage  and  flowers  are  found  growing  close  to  the  banks  of  snow.  Straw- 
berries are  often  found  growing  in  great  abundance  far  above  the  timber  line, 
as  well  as  raspberries.  The  timber  above  an  altitude  of  8,000  or  9,000  feet  is 
principally  fir  and  spruce,  which  is  quite  abundant,  and  grows  to  a  great  size. 
The  native  grass  is  of  an  extremely  nutritious  quality,  and  for  hay  cannot  be 
excelled.  It  grows  high  and  vigorously,  and  in  the  valleys  and  parks  can  bt 
cut  in  great  quantities.  Trout  are  found  in  the  streams  at  a  height  of  nearly 
12,000  feet,  and  a  variety  of  wild  game  is  abundant.  The  climate  is  less  severe 
in  the  silver  regions  than  at  the  same  altitudes  upon  the  eastern  side  of  the 
range,  owing  to  the  high  mountains  which  intervene,  and  which  form  barriers 
against  the  sweeping  winds  of  the  plains.  Settlements  are  rapidly  being  made 
in  those  sections,  and  soon  they  will  resound  with  the  busy  labor  of  thousands' 
who  will  be  required  to  develop  the  wonderfully  rich  and  accessible  treasures  of 
which  now  the  existence  is  comparatively  unknown. 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  11 

Lead,  in  the  form  of  galena,  exhibits  itself  in  many  of  the  gold  mines,  but 
diminishes  in  quantity  as  the  shafts  sink.  It  is  more  plentifully  found  in  Ten- 
mile  district,  Summit  county,  than  in  any  other  section  yet  known.  In  that  dis- 
trict it  is  in  some  instances  found  projecting  in  large  masses  above  the  surface  of 
the  earth  upon  the  line  of  vein,  and  can  be  detached  in  a  partially  oxidized  con- 
dition in  pieces  weighing  from  500  to  1,000  pounds.  Upon  Fletcher  mountain 
thousands  of  tons  could  be  easily  gleaned  from  the  surface,  and  but  a  short  dis- 
tance below  the  surface  are  large  beds,  the  extent  of  which  have  not  yet  been 
determined.  This  galena  is  never  found  free  from  silver,  yielding  from  10  to 
500  ounces  to  the  ton  of  metal. 

From  some  pieces  of  galena,  fair  average  ors  from  a  number  of  veins  in  Ten- 
mile  district,  the  following  assays  for  silver  were  obtained  by  Professor  A.  A. 
Hayes,  State  assayer  of  Massachusetts  : 

Oz.  Diets.  Grs. 

Pyramid  vein per  ton  2,000  pounds..  81  13  8 

Merrimac  vein do 68  12  0 

Polygoiivein do 266  8  0 

Hard  Cash  vein do 108  2  12 

Blackstone  vein do -..  85  18  6 

Young  vein do 65  6  16 

Finsleyvein do 178  17  0 

Siberianvein do 106  0  20 

Augustine  vein do 221  3  12 

giving  an  average  exceeding  130  ounces  to  the  ton. 

This  metal,  like  copper,  has  not  been  mined  for,  excepting  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  it  to  flux  other  metals  with  by  the  new  smelting  process. 

Deposits  of  dry  salt  are  found  in  some  parts  of  the  Territory,  and  salt  springs 
are  quite  plentiful  in  the  parks.  The  salt  found  in  a  dry  state  is  comparatively 
pure,  and  the  saline  springs  contain  fully  one-half  pound  of  salt  to  the  gallon 
of  water.  Some  of  the  springs  are  very  large.  In  the  South  Park  extensive 
works  are  erected  and  in  operation  for  boiling  and  evaporating  the  brine.  The 
spring  from  which  the  works  are  supplied  is  some  1,000  feet  long  by  150  feet 
wide,  from  the  bottom  of  which  the  water  boils  up  vigorously. 

The  following  are  altitudes  above  the  sea  of  some  towns  and  passes  in  Colo- 
rado : 

Feet. 

Denver  City 5,317 

Golden  City 5,882 

Central  City 8,300 

Idaho 7,800 

Georgetown 8, 452 

Empire  City 8,871 

Pass  over  the  range  via  Cheyenne 7,500 

Pass  over  the  range  via  Berthond 10,914 

Pass  over  the  range  via  South  Park 11,000 

Pa*s  over  the  range  via  Boulder 11,700 

Pass  over  the  range  via  Jones 12, 200 

Pass  over  the  range  via  Argentine 13,000 

North,  South,  Middle,  and  San  Luis  Parks,  from 6, 000  to  9, 000 

Main  belts  of  gold  mines,  from 7,  000  to  9, 000 

Main  belts  of  silver  mines,  from 8, 000  to  11, 000 

About  one-half  of  the  Territory  is  covered  with  timber,  the  growth  in  some 
sections  being  small  and  scattering,  composed  of  the  pinon,  or  nut-bearing  pine, 
and  scrubby  cedar.  These  are  confined  to  the  lower  foot-hills  of  the  mountains. 
Higher  up  are  found  cedar,  spruce,  fir,  and  pine,  which  grow  to  an  enormous 
size.  Hemlock,  aspen,  and  oak  are  also  found.  Plum  and  cherry  trees  are  met 
with  growing  wild,  and  the  apple  and  pear  are  being  cultivated  with  success. 
Wild  grapes,  strawberries,  raspberries,  and  currants  are  abundant,  and  heavy 
growths  of  wild  clover,  wild  rye,  and  wild  barley  cover  many  of  the  valleys. 

The  records  of  the  United  States  Land  Office  exhibit  sales  of  210,000  acres 


12  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

of  fanning  land  in  the  Territory,  with  190,000  acres  claimed  but  not  paid  for, 
making  400,000  acres  under  improvement.  Of  this  number '100,000  acres  are 
well  cultivated.  Wheat,  barley,  and  oats  yield  from  30  to  70  bushels  to  the 
acre,  and  all  varieties  of  vegetables  are  successfully  raised.  In  1865,  for  a 
number  of  months  corn  and  oats  sold  readily  at  prices  ranging  from  15  to  25 
cents  per  pound.  In  the  summer  of  1866  grains  sold  in  Colorado  at  prices  less 
than  those  ruling  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  the  largest  grain  mart  in  the  world.  Eight 
or  ten  flour  mills  are  now  in  operation,  which  are  making  more  flour  than  the  people 
of  the  Territory  can  consume. 

Enough  has  been  done  in  Colorado  to  satisfy  any  one  of  the  true  value  of  the 
countless  and  inexhaustible  veins  which  so  closely  pack  and  seam  her  mountain 
sides,  and  the  improvements  which  have  been  made- there  in  so  short  a  time  must 
appear  astonishing  to  any  one  who  will  examine  them.  But  the  great  difliculties 
which  have  been  encountered  must  be  taken  into  consideration  by  those  who 
review  her  mining  processes  ;  the  interruptions  of  the  war  and  Indian  difficulties ; 
the  long  distance  and  high  rates  of  freight  from  the  Missouri  river,  and  the  delay 
occasioned  in  getting  the  machinery  ordered,  which,  being  of  novel  construction, 
had  to  be  manufactured  expressly  for  the  purpose.  But  these  difliculties  are 
happily  now  overcome  by  the  cessation  of  war,  by  the  building  of  railroads,  and 
by  the  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  Territory,  so  that  we  may  reasonably 
expect  in  the  succeeding  few  years  to  see  a  more  rapid  and  successful  advance. 

WYOMING,  OR  LiyCOLX. 

On  the  organization  of  Montana  Territory,  and  the  limitation  of  Idaho  to  dis- 
tricts west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  a  region  remained  south  of  Montana  which, 
for  want  of  settlements  or  any  form  of  public  organization,  was  annexed  to  Dakota. 
It  will  probably  be  constituted  a  Territory  at  the  current  session  of  Congress,  as 
important  discoveries  of  gold  mines  have  lately  occurred  in  the  valley  of  the 
Sweet  water  and  on  the  sources  of  the  Wind  river.  The  Cereso  lode,  near  the 
South  Pass,  is  the  most  prominent  locality,  and  was  the  first  scene  of  discovery. 
As  much  as  $130  per  day  is  claimed  as  the  reward  of  one  man's  labor  with  a 
hand  mortar.  Some  150  lodes  have  been  located,  all  within  a  circle  of  6  by  15 
miles,  while  the  great  mineral  belt  in  which  the  mines  are  found  extends  from 
Fremont's  Peak  south  to  the  junction  of  Grand  and  Green  rivers.  There  seems 
to  be  little  doubt  that  the  foot-hills  of  the  Wind  River  mountains  are  equally 
auriferous. 

The  Sweetwater  mines  are  situated  northeast  of  the  old  emigrant  road  which 
leads  through  South  Pass  and  by  the  Pacific  Springs,  and  are  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Rocky  mountains  j  and  thus  far  only  one  ledge  has  been  observed 
to  cross  the  divide  to  the  western  slope  of  the  mountains.  The  line  of  the  Pacific 
road  is  25  miles  south  of  the  mines — the  telegraph  within  nine  miles.  A  popu- 
lation of  600  passed  the  winter  of  1S67-'6S  in  this  district  j  a  newspaper,  the 
Sweetwater  Miner,  has  commenced  its  issues,  and  the  federal  government  will 
probably  be  represented  by  territorial  officers  at  an  early  day. 

MONTANA. 

So  much  interest  is  expressed  in  the  mining  development  of  this  new  Territory 
that  I  have  sought  and  obtained  the  valuable  assistance  of  W.  S.  Keyes,  mining 
engineer,  a  resident  of  Montana,  to  present  with  some  detail  the  narratives  of 
mining  discovery  and  enterprise  upon  the  sources  of  the  Missouri.  His  commu- 
nication is  embraced  in  the  appendix  to  this  report. 

In  estimating  the  annual  product  of  the  precious  metals  from  Montana,  I 
adopted  a  rate,  which  did  not  seem  entirely  arbitrary,  of  doubling  the  mint  deposits 
for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1866.  These  were  $5,505,687  30,  and  on  this  basis 
the  production  of  that  year  was  assumed  to  be  about  $12,000,000.  I  am  still 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  13 

of  the  opinion  that  this  method  of  estimate  is  fair,  and  reasonably  accurate  in 
respect  to  gold,  while,  as  to  silver,  so  little  is  ever  demanded  for  coinage  that  a 
much  greater  proportion  passes  into  consumption  from  private  assay.  The  deposits 
of  gold  from  Montana  at  the  mint,  in  Philadelphia,  San  Francisco,  and  Denver, 
and  the  assay  office  in  New  York,  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 1867,  amounted 
to  $6,595.419  15.  This  amount  doubled  would  be  $13,190,838  30,  or  with  an 
addition  of  the  probable  quantity  of  silver,  it  may  be  stated  at  $13,550,000. 

Professor  Keyes  accepts  a  calculation,  by  N.  P.  Langford,  esq.,  collector  of 
internal  revenue,  based  on  population  in  1867,  which  is  reported  at  24,000. 
Assuming  an  average  population  of  22,500  since  1864,  and  that  the  average  cost 
of  living*  is  $750  per  annum,  these  gentlemen  infer  that  the  population  must  have 
received  from  the  mines  the  annual^iggregate  of  $  16,875,000.  In  tke  English 
mining  colonies  careful  statements  of  the  number  engaged  in  gold  mining  are 
preserved ;  but  the  record  in  Australia,  for  1867,  only  returns  <€SO,  or  $400,  per 
miner.  There  is  probaply  no  industry  in  the  world  so  precarious,  and  in  which 
there  is  so  much  time  passed  without  productive  results.  Apply  the  Australian 
ratio,  to  the  entire  average  population  of  Montana,  as  above  stated,  and  we  have 
$9,000,000  per  annum  since  1864 — a  statement  which  is  only  $3,000,000  in  excess 
of  the  estimate  in  my  last  report.  The  foregoing  statement  of  $13,250,000, 
founded  on  the  mint  deposits  of  1867,  is  more  favorable  to  Montana  than  the 
estimate  of  Messrs.  Langford  and  Keyes. 

The  area  of  the  Territory  is  reported  as  146,689T3o\  square  miles,  equal  to 
93,881,184  acres — nearly  the  same  as  California,  three  times  the  area  of  New 
York,  two  and  a  half  that  of  New  England ;  and  yet  no  greater  proportion  is 
claimed  by  local  authorities  as  susceptible  of  cultivation  than  1  acre  in  30,  or  a 
total  of  3,346,400  acres.  Of  course,  afar  greater  surface  will  afford  sustenance 
to  domestic  animals.  The  limit  to  agriculture,  as  in  Colorado  and  New  Mexico, 
is  the  possibility  of  irrigation. 

Referring  to  fke  enclosed  communication  for  further  details,  it  is  not  deemed 
inappropriate  to  trace  beyond  the  international  frontier  those  physical  features 
which  hav<*  characterized  the  cordillera  of  the  Sierra  Madre  from  the  29th  to  the 
49th  parallel.  These  are  attractively  described  by  Father  De  Smet,  the  well 
known  missionary,  who,  in  1845,  crossed  the  mountains  from  the  sources  of  the 
Columbia  to  the  Bow  river,  or  South  fork  of  the  Saskatchawan.  Thence  he  continued 
northward,  noticing  coal  on  the  Red  Deer,  a  branch  of  the  Bow  river.  Descend- 
ing the  valley  of  the  Red  Deer,  he  at  length  emerged  upon  what  he  described 
as  "  the  vast  plain,  the  ocean  of  prairies."  He  followed  the  general  direction  of 
the  mountain  chain  to  Edmonton  House,  in  latitude  54°,  whence  he  wrote  in  the 
following  terms : 

The  entire  region  in  the  vicinity  of  tlie  eastern  chain  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  serving  as 
their  base  for  30  or  60  miles,  is  extremely  fertile,  abounding  in  forests,  plains,  prairies,  lakes, 
streams,  and  mineral  springs.  The  rivers  and  streams  are  innumerable,  and  on  every  side 
offer  situations  favorable  for  the  construction  of  mills.  The  northern  and  southern  branches 
of  the  Saskatchawan  \vater  the  district  I  have  traversed  for  a  distance  of  about  300  miles. 
Forests  of  pines,  cypress,  thorn,  poplar,  and  aspen  trees,  as  well  as  others  of  different  kinds, 
occupy  a  large  portion  of  it,  covering  the  declivities  of  the  mountains  and  banks  of  the  rivers. 
These  originally  take  their  rise  in  the  highest  chains,  whence  they  issue  in  every  direction 
like  so  many  veins.  The  beds  and  sides  of  these  rivers  are  pebbly,  and  their  course  rapid, 
but  as  they  recede  from  the  mountains  they  widen,  and  their  currents  lose  something  of 
their  impetuosity.  Their  waters  are  usually" very  clear.  The  country  would  be  capable  of 
supporting  H,  large  population,  and  the  soil  is  favorable  for  the  production  of  wheat,  barley, 
potatoes,  and  beans,  which  grow  here  as  well  as  in  the  more  southern  countries. 

As  early  as  1862,  some  American  explorers  washed  from  the  bed  of  the  north 
Saskatchawan  river,  at  a  distance  of  200  miles  from  its  extreme  sources  in  the 
Rocky  mountains,  minute  particles  of  gold,  but  with  no  return  exceeding  one 
cent  to  the  pan,  or  $5  per  day.  In  subsequent  years  the  emigrants  from  Selkirk 
settlements,  and  a  few  American  adventurers,  obtained  more  satisfactory  results, 
there  being  frequent  instances  of  $10  as  a  daily  average  from  bars  or  gulches 


14  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

nearer  the  mountains.  As  the  Montana  explorations  have  advanced  towards 
the  international  frontier,  each  encampment  proving  more  productive  than  its 
predecessors,  the  opinion  has  prevailed  that  the  sources  of  the  Saskatchewan 
would  develop  rich  deposits  of  gold  and  silver,  especially  near  the  great  centre 
of  physical  disturbance,  where  'Mount  Hooker  reaches  an  elevation  of  16,000 
feet,  and  Mount  Brown  15,700  feet  above  the  sea,  and  from  which  the  waters  of  the 
Saskatchawan,  Peace,  Frazer,  and  Columbia  rivers  diverge  to  three  oceans.  So 
prevalent  is  this  belief  in  Montana  that  a  sudden  migration  of  thousands  may  at 
any  moment  be  anticipated.  American  prospectors  at  the  Kootanie  mines  have 
already  passed  the  mountains  on  or  beyond  the  boundary  of  49°,  and  found  rich 
washings,  returning  even  $60  dafly  to  the  hand  on  the  sources  of  the  south 
Saskatchawan. 

The  limit  of  successful  agriculture  in  the  northern  temperate  zone  should  be 
earned  considerably  beyond  the  Saskatchawan  valley,  especially  near  the  Rocky 
mountains.  Sir  Roderick  Murchison,  in  an  address  before  the  London  Geograph- 
ical Society,  represents  this  chain  of  mountains  to  be  greatly  depressed  in  high 
northern  latitudes,  and  indeed  several  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Mackenzie  have 
their  sources  on  the  Pacific  slope,  and  wind  through  the  mountains  before  falling 
into  the  great  Arctic  river.  The  mountain  valleys  of  the  Peace  and  Liard 
rivers,  latitude  56°  to  60°,  are  thus  influenced  by  the  Pacific  winds,  and  wheat 
and  other  cereals  are  successfully  cultivated.  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie  describes, 
under  date  of  May  10,  the  exuberant  verdure  of  the  mountain  valleys — trees 
about  to  blossom,  and  buffalo  attended  by  their  young.  During  an  inquiry  in 
1858  by  the  English  House  of  Commons  *into  the  situation  of  the  territory  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  similar  statements  wrere  elicited.  Dr.  Richard  King, 
who  accompanied  an  expedition  in  search  of  Sir  John  Ross,  as  "surgeon  and 
naturalist,"  was  asked  what  portion  of  the  country  visited  by  him  was  valuable 
for  the  purpose  of  settlement.  In  reply  he  described  "  as  a  very  fertile  valley  a 
square  piece  of  country,"  bounded  on  the  south  by  Cumberland  House,  and  by 
the  Athabasca  lake  on  the  north.  His  own  words  are  as  follows : 

,The  sources  of  the  Athabasca  and  the  sources  of  the  Saskatchawan  include  an  enormous 
area  of  country.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  vast  piece  of  land  surrounded  by  water.  When  I  heard 
Dr.  Livingston's  description  of  that  country,  which  he  found  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  within 
the  equator,  it  appeared  to  me  to  be  precisely  the  kind  of  country  which  I  am  now  describing. 
It  is  a  rich  soil,  interspersed  with  well-wooded  country,  there  being  growth  of  every  kind, 
and  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom  alive. 

When  asked  concerning  mineral  productions  his  reply  was : 

I  do  not  know  of  any  other  mineral  except  limestone ;  limestone  is  apparent  in  all  direc- 
tions. *  *  *  The  birch,  the  beech,  and  the  maple  are  in  abundance,  and  there  is  every 
sort  of  fruit. 

When  questioned  further,  as  to  the  growth  of  trees,  Dr.  King  replied  by  a 
comparison  "  with  the  magnificent  trees  around  Kensington  Park  in  London." 
He  described  a  farm  near  Cumberland  House,  under  very  successful  cultivation — 
luxuriant  wheat,  potatoes,  barley,  pigs,  cows,  and  horses. 

Beyond  the  Athabasca  district  above  described,  the  valley  of  the  Mackenzie, 
parallel  and  adjacent  to  the  northwestern  trend  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  is  too 
Arctic  in  position  and  climate  for  successful  agriculture,  but  will  always  possess 
interest  to  the  geologist  and  mineralogist.  Its  course  has  been  frequently  followed 
by  scientific  observers,  either  employed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  com- 
missioned by  the  English  government  for  exploration  of  the  Arctic  coast.  These 
observations  are  of  interest,  from  their  analogies  to  the  formations  previously 
noticed  within  the  Territories  of  Montana,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico,  and 
because  the  extreme  northern  districts  are  only  separated  by  a  mountain  chain 
from  the  comparatively  unknown  Territory  of  Alaska.  The  Saskatchawan 
basin  is  mostly  silurian,  but  towards  its  western  and  northern  borders  coal 
measures  are  developed,  which  extend  continuously  to  the  Arctic  ocean  along 


EAST  OF  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  If) 

the  western  bank  of  the  Mackenzie.  The  preponderance  of  testimony  is  that 
the  coal  is  lignite.  Of  this  Mackenzie  district,  Sir  John  Richardson  thus  spoke 
in  a  communication  published  in  the  journal  of  the  Geographical  Socictv  for 
1845: 

It  is  rich  in  minerals ;  inexhaustible  coal-fields  skirt;  the  Rocky  mountains  through  12°  of 
latitude ;  beds  of  coal  crop  out  of  the  surface  on  various  parts  of  the  Arctic  coast ;  veins  of 
lead  ore  traverse  the  rocks  of  Coronation  Gulf,  and  the  Mackenzie  river  flows  through  a 
well-wooded  tract,  skirted  by  metalliferous  ranges  of  mountains,  and  offers  no  obstruction  to 
steam  navigation  for  upwards  of  1,200  miles. 

DAKOTA. 

Keturning  to  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  the  Black  Hills  on  the  western 
border  of  Dakota,  between  44°  and  45°  latitude,  and  103°  and  105°  longitude, 
will  next  receive  notice.  They  are  closely  related  to  the  Missouri  and  Yellow- 
stone mines  of  Montana,  and  have  been  ascertained  by  the  explorations  of  Lieu- 
tenant G.  K.  Warren  in  1847,  and  of  Captain  W.  F.  Eeynolds  in  1859  and  1860, 
under  direction  of  the  United  States  topographical  office,  to  be  rich  in  gold  and 
silver,  as  well  as  coal,  iron,  copper,  and  pine  forests. 

The  area  occupied  by  the  Black  Jlills,  as  delineated  on  a  map  which  accom- 
panies Lieutenant  Warren's  report,  is  6,000  square  miles,  or  about  the  surface  of 
Connecticut.  Their  bases  are  elevated  from  2,500  to  3,500  feet,  and  the  highest 
peaks  are  about  6,700  feet  above  the  ocean  level.  The  whole  geological  range 
of  rocks,  from  the  granite  and  metamorphosed  azoic  to  the  cretaceous  formations 
of  the  surrounding  plains,  are  developed  by  the  upheaval  of  the  mountain  mass. 
Thus,  at  the  junction  of  silurian  rocks,  gold  becomes  accessible,  while  the  car- 
boniferous strata  bring  coal  measures  within  reach. 

With  the  pacification  of  the  Sioux  Indians  and  the  establishment  of  emigrant 
roads  this  district  of  Dakota  wrould  doubtless  be  the  scene  of  great  mining  excite- 
ment, as  the  gold  field  of  the  Black  Hills  is  accessible  at  a  distance  of  120  miles 
from  the  Missouri  river. 

MINNESOTA. 

In  1865  attention  was  directed  to  discoveries  of  gold  and  silver  northwest  of 
Lake  Superior,  in  the  State  of  Minnesota.  Lake  Vermillion,  an  expansion  of  a 
stream  of  that  name,  is  the  centre  of  the  district  in  question.  The  outline  of 
this  lake  is  very  irregular.  With  a  diameter  of  30  miles,  its  surface  is  so  studded 
with  islands,  its  shores  so  broken  with  bays  and  headlands,  that  the  entire  coast 
line  cannot  be  less  than  200  miles  in  extent.  In  1848  Dr.  I.  G.  Norwood,  of 
Owen's  geological  survey,  passed  from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Louis  river,  at  the 
western  extremity  of  Lake  Superior,  to  the  sources  of  the  Vermillion  river,  and, 
descending  through  the  lake  to  the  Eainy  river,  furnished  a  sketch  of  its  natural 
features  and  mineral  exposures.  His  statements  are  repeated  so  far  as  they 
record  the  usual  indications  of  a  gold  formation. 

Before  entering  Vermillion  lake  from  the  south,  Dr.  Norwood  mentions  a  per- 
pendicular fall  of  eight  feet  over  "silicious  slate,  hard  and  gray,  with  minute 
grains  of  iron  pyrites  sparsely  disseminated  through  it."  This  rock  bears  east 
and  west,  with  thin  seams  of  quartz  between  the  laminae,  running  in  the  line  of 
bearing.  There  are  also  irregular  patches  of  quartz,  from  8  to  10  feet  long  and 
from  6  to  12  inches  wide,  which  cross  the  strike  at  right  angles.  The  river  is 
broken  by  falls  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above,  or  "south  of,  Lake  Vermillion. 

The  islands  in  the  lake  indicate  very  distinctly  volcanic  action,  one  of  them 
being  an  extinct  crater.  The  prevalent  rocks  are  talcose  slate,  which  Dr.  Nor- 
wood describes  as  "  eminently  magnesian,  thinly  laminated,  and  traversed  by 
numerous  veins  of  quartz  from  an  inch  to  five  feet  wide,  some  of  which  contain 
beautiful  crystals  of  iron  pyrites."  He  adds  that,  "from  some  indications  noticed, 
other  more  valuable  minerals  will  probably  be  found  associated  with  it."  A 


16  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

Bpecimen  obtained  about  midway  of  the  lake  is  catalogued  as  "  quartz  of  reddish 
brown  color ;  crystalline,  with  yellow  iron  pyrites,  crystallized  as  well  as  foliated 
disseminated  through  it." 

These  quartz  veins  were  ascertained  in  1865-'66  to  be  auriferous.  A  specimen 
weighing  three  pounds,  containing  copper  pyrites,  was  forwarded  by  the  governor 
of  Minnesota  to  the  mint  in  Philadelphia,  and,  upon  assay,  was  found  to  contain 
$23  03  of  gold  and  $4  42  of  silver  per  ton  of  2,000  pounds.  The  State  geolo- 
gist, Mr.  H.  H.  Eames,  reported  an  abundant  supply  of  quartz  equal  in  richness. 
Other  assays  in  New  York — in  one  instance  by  officers  of  the  United  States  assay 
office — exhibited  results  from  $10  to  $35  per  ton.  Professor  J.  V.  Z.  Blancy, 
of  Chicago,  described  a  vein  10  feet  in  width,  at  the  foot  of  a  shaft  of  50  feet, 
which  was  "  indubitably  gold-bearing,"  and  added  that  "  specimens  taken  from 
its  central  portion,  as  proven  by  assay,  would  be  sufficient  in  California,  Colorado, 
and  other  successful  mining  regions,"  to  warrant  further  exploration."  Washings 
of  the  drift  near  the  veins  opened  have  produced  gold,  but  in  limited  quantities. 

Difficulties  of  transportation,  concurring  with  the  general  depression  of  mining 
interests  in  the  basin  of  Lake  Superior,  have  postponed  the  consummation  of 
several  enterprises  for  working  the  Vermillion  mines  $  but  a  ton  of  quartz  recently 
reduced  at  St.  Paul  is  said  to  have  yielded  eight  pounds  of  bullion,  valued  between 
$400  and  $500.  The  question  of  their  general  productiveness  remains  to  be 
determined. 

CANADIAN   MESSES. 

When,  in  1862,  gold  was  discovered  upon  the  sources  of  the  Saskatchawan, 
a  newspaper  at  Selkirk  settlement,  the  Norwester,  published  statements  of  the 
existence  of  gold  between  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Winnipeg.  Since  the  Ver- 
million discovery  rumors  of  its  extension  into  British  America  are  prevalent,  and 
suggest  a  probability  that  the  mountain  chain  known  to  geographers  as  the 
Laurentian,  which  separates  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  lakes  from 
the  tributaries  of  Hudson  bay,  may  reveal  to  future  explorers  extensive  deposits 
of  gold  and  silver.  The  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  including  the  sandstones  of 
Lake  Superior,  is  a  lower  silurian  formation ;  that  of  Hudson  bay,  granitic  or 
primary,  with  many  evidences  in  Minnesota  and  along  the  Canadian  shore  of 
Lake  Superior  of  eruptive  or  igneous  agencies. 

Sir  Roderick  Murchison  has  frequently  advanced  the  opinion  that  the  pro- 
ductive gold  districts  of  the  world  occur  where  the  silurian,  and  perhaps  the 
lower  strata  of  Devonian,  rocks  are  in  contact  with,  or  have  been  penetrated  by, 
greenstones,  porphyries,  serpentine,  granitic,  and  other  rocks  of  the  primary  forma- 
tion. Gold,  especially  when  traced  to  its  original  matrix,  is  found  to  occur  chiefly 
in  veins  or  lodes  of  quartz  rising  from  beneath  and  cutting  through  the  secondary 
strata  or  beds  of  which  the  surface 'was  previously  composed.  These  conditions 
are  observed  in  the  Vermillion  district,  and  Professor  Owen,  as  early  as  1850, 
traced  in  this  locality  of  Minnesota,  and  northeastwardly  along  the  north  shore 
of  Lake  Superior,  in  Canada,  what  he  denominated  a  "great  plutonic  chain," 
and  the  "  main  axis  of  dislocation,"  from  which  silurian  sandstones  extend  south- 
wardly through  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  while  on  the  north  the  streams  which 
are  turned  towards  Hudson  bay  traverse  a  region  exclusively  granitic  or  pri- 
mary. If  in  Minnesota  an  auriferous  belt  has  marked  this  line  of  junction,  we 
may  with  reason  anticipate  its  extension  eastwardly  into  Canada  and  northwest- 
wardly towards  Lake  Winnipeg.  Indeed,  as  English  explorers  trace  this  con 
tact  of  primary  and  silurian  formations  along  the  basins  of  Lakes  Slave  and 
Athabasca  and  the  channel  of  the  Mackenzie  to  the  Arctic  ocean,  it  becomes  an 
interesting  problem  for  future  solution  whether  the  auriferous  deposits  of  British 
Columbia  and  Saskatchawan  may  not  be  extended,  with  various  degrees  of  pro- 
ductiveness, along  the  crest  which  separates  the  waters  of  the  Gulfs  of  Mexico 
and  St.  Lawrence  from  those  of  the  Arctic  ocean  and  Hudson  bay,  quite  as  the 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  17 

discoveries  of  this  century  now  follow  the  Ural  mines  eastward,  through  Siberia? 
to  the  Pacific. 

The  intrusion  of  granitic  rocks  is  not  confined  in  Minnesota  to  the  northeastern 
angle  of  the  State.  It  has  been  traced  southwestwardly,  near  Sank  rapids,  upon 
the  Upper  Minnesota,  and  even  to  the  northwestern  boundary  of  Iowa,  in  a 
wedge-like  shape,  although  covered  in  most  places  by  the  mass  of  drift  which 
constitutes  so  large  a  portion  of  the  surface  of  Minnesota.  A  similar  granitic 
cape,  with  its  associated  minerals,  may  be  the  explanation  of  the  alleged  gold 
deposits  in  the  township  of  Madoc,  near  Kingston,  in  Canada  West. 

In  1867  occurred  an  important  discovery  of  native  silver  near  Fort  William, 
on  Thunder  bay  of  Lake  Superior,  almost  at  the  western  limit  of  Canada. 
Miners  from  Ontonagon  have  visited  the  locality  and  returned  with  specimens  of 
native  silver,  lead,  copper  ore,  and  mundic.  The  native  silver  is  principally 
disseminated  in  the  vein  matrix,  much  like  stamp  copper,  and  its  weight  runs 
from  1  to  10  per  cent,  of  the  rock.  The  lead  is  also  highly  charged  with  silver 
ore.  Although  many  claims  have  been  secured,  yet  only  two  shafts  have  been 
sunk.  From  these,  which  have  reached  a  depth  of  30  to  40  feet,  a  considerable 
amount  of  ore  has  been  taken,  consisting  of  native  silver,  black  sulphuret  of  silver, 
argentiferous  galena,  and  leaf  silver  through  the  spar.  These  shafts  are  upon 
one  lode,  which  is  fully  20  feet  in  width,  having  an  east  and  west  bearing,  with 
dip  to  the  north.  The  sheet  of  mineral  and  metal  is  about  four  inches  in  thick- 
ness, interspersed  through  the  spar  and  quartz  and  mingled  with  hornblende. 
The  yield  of  the  working  ores,  from  practical  assay,  is  stated  to  be  at  the  rate 
of  $700  per  ton.  If  the  current  information  in  regard  to  these  silver  mines  at 
Fort  William 'is  confirmed,  they  will  soon  be  the  centre  of  great  mining  excite- 
ment. 

A  discovery  of  gold  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  in  the  region  of  Black 
bay,  between  Thunder  bay  and  the  river  Neepigon,  is  communicated  by  Pro- 
fessor E.  J.  Chapman  to  the  Toronto  Globe.  He  represents  that  repeated  assays 
have  yielded  amounts  of  gold  varying  per  ton  from  15  to  19  penny  weights,  the 
mean  being  17  pennyweights  12  grains,  with  about  two  ounces  of  silver — results 
obtained  from  surface  specimens  only,  and  showing  a  value  of  nearly  $21  per 
ton.  irrespective  of  considerable  amounts  of  copper  and  lead.  The  enclosing 
rock  is  described  as  silurian. 

The  discoveries  in  the  Macloc  district,  near  Belleville,  in  Canada  West,  or 
Ontario,  have  been  extended,  geographically,  during  the  past  year,  and  reduction 
works  by  several  responsible  companies  are  nearly  completed.  Much  mystery 
attends  the  degree  of  success  by  the  different  claims  now  in  course  of  develop- 
ment, but  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  next  summer's  operations  will  vindi- 
cate the  wisdom  of  the  very  considerable  investments  which  have  been  made. 

The  latest  and  most  reliable  statement  in  regard  to  the  Madoc  mines  is  pre- 
sented by  the  gold  inspector  of  the  Quinte  mining  district,  for  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, 1868,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  reduction  of  ores  by  working  pro- 
cess from  45  district  localities,  19  yielded  gold  in  paying  quantities,  14  in  smaller 
quantities,  and  12  showed  blank.  The  highest  returns  were  $40  and  $62  per 
ton.  Of  the  mines  from  which  samples  have  hitherto  been  sent  to  the  two 
reducing  establishments,  now  in  operation,  42  per  cent,  will  pay  to  work  from  the 
first,  34  per  cent,  are  worthy  of  further  trial,  and  only  26  per  cent,  show  no 
appreciable  result.  The  greatest  depth  of  excavation  yet  reached  is  70  feet. 

The  auriferous  alluvians  of  Lower  Canada  cover  an  extended  region  estimated 
by  the  geological  commission  to  embrace  10,000  square  miles.  The  gravels, 
through  which  the  gold  is  very  irregularly  distributed,  are  generally  covered  by 
a  layer  of  vegetable  earth  and  often  by  a  bed  of  clay.  They  repose  in  part 
upon  metamorphic  lower  silurian  rocks  consisting  of  schists,  generally  talcose, 
micaceous  or  chloritic,  associated  with  diorites  and  serpentines.  But  to  the 
southward  these  lower  silurian  strata  are  tmconformably  overlaid  by  others  of 
2  T 


18  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

upper  silurian  age,  which  are  also  covered  by  gold-bearing  alluvians.  These 
upper  rocks  consist  of  argillaceous  schists,  with  sandstones  and  limestones  all 
more  or  less  altered.  The  rocks  of  these  two  formations,  but  especially  of  the 
upper  silurian,  are  traversed  by  numerous  veins  of  quartz  running  in  the  direction 
of  the  stratification,  or  between  northeast  and  east.  Mr.  A.  Michel,  from  whom 
these  particulars  are  obtained,  compares  these  Canadian  deposits  with  the  aurif- 
erous sands  of  the  Ural  or  Altai  mountains,  in  Siberia,  which  are  rarely  found 
reposing  on  granitic  or  syenitic  rocks,  but  almost  always  on  schistose  rocks  in 
the  vicinity  of  diorites  and  serpentines,  which  has  led  the  Russian  mining 
engineers  to  consider  the  gold  as  having  "  its  principal  source  in  the  ferruginous 
quartz  of  the  metamorphic  schists,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  serpentines  and 
diorites." 

These  mines  are  called  Chaudiere,  as  upon  that  tributary  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  its  branches,  in  the  Seignory  of  Vaudreuil,  the  principal  placers  have  been 
discovered,  and  there,  also,  the  only  quartz  lodes  have  been  successfully  worked. 
Alluvial  raining  is  no  longer  prosecuted,  although  favorable  reports  have  been 
circulated  since  1851,  and  Mr.  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  of  the  Canadian  geological 
survey,  claims  that  the  river  banks  would  richly  repay  the  use  of  "hydraulic 
methods.  Assuming  that  the  cost  in  Canada  of  washing  gravel  by  this  method 
would  be  one-fourth  as  much  as  in  California,  or  five  cents  the  cubic  yard,  he 
adds  that  the  auriferous  alluvian  over  an  acre  at  the  forks  of  the  Du  Loup  and 
Chaudiere  yielded,  during  the  workings  in  1851-'52,  at  the  rate  of  one  and 
thirty-eight  hundredths  grain  of  gold  to  the  cubic  foot,  which  is  equal  to  37 
grains  to  the  cubic  yard.  At  the  ordinary  fineness  of  the  alluvial  gold  of  the 
Chaudiere  region,  the  value  of  this  would  be  $1  33  as  the  yield  of  a  cubic  yard 
of  gravel.  The  alluvial  gold  of  this  district  is  not  confined  to  the  gravel  of 
river  channels,  nor  to  alluvial  flats,  but  is  found  in  gravels  high  above  the  river 
beds,  to  which  the  l^draulic  method  might  be  applied  with  advantage  even 
though  the  proportion  of  gold  was  much  less  than  near  the  Du  Loup. 

Prof.  Hunt  gives  the  results  of  31  assays  of  gold-bearing  rock,  from  12  different 
localities.  Of  these  assays  18  gave  no  trace  of  gold,  while  the  remaining  13 
gave  the  following  returns :  1.  Of  five  assays  four  gave  an  average  of  only 
6  dwts.,  13  grains  of  gold  =  $6  76,  while  the  fifth,  in  which  a  large  scale  of 
gold  was  seen  in  sifting  and  wras  added  to  the  assay,  yielded  at  the  rate  of  4 
ounces,  18  dwts.,  =  $101  29  j  the  average  of  the  five  assays  being  $25  6G  per 
ton.  2.  From  another  locality  in  the  Seignory  of  Vandreuil,  four  assays  gave 
a  mean  of  4  dwts.,  21  grains,  =  $5  03  ;  and  that  of  two  others,  in  which  a  scale 
of  gold  was  seen  and  ground  up  with  the  powder,  gave  3  ounces,  2  dwts.,  = 
$64  07,  the  average  of  the  six  assays  being  $24  71  to  the  ton.  3.  Two  Vaudreuil 
assays  gave  a  mean  of  14  dwts.,  16  grains,  =  $15  15.  4.  Two  assays  from 
another  district,  Liniere,  gave  a  mean  of  6  dwts.,  13  grains,  =  $6  76  to  the  ton. 

This  record  does  not  place  the  success  of  quartz  mining  beyond  all  contingency ; 
but  a  well  organized  company  is  now  engaged  in  experiments  which  will  deter- 
mine the  question  during  1868. 

XOVA   SCOTIA. 

There  is  no  district  on  this  continent,  not  excepting  the  Grass  Valley  mines 
of  California,  where  the  reduction  of  auriferous  quartz  has  been  more  successful 
than  in  Nova  Scotia.  Two  important  elements  concur  in  this  result — the  cheap- 
ness of  commodities  under  light  taxation,  and  the  great  facilities  of  access  from 
the  sea,  and  by  good  roads. 

Hon.  P.  S.  Hamilton,  commissioner  of  mines  at  Halifax,  has  favored  me  with 
an  elaborate  communication  upon  the  gold  mines  of  Nova  Scotia,  including  some 
notice  of  the  coal  measures,  which  is  given  in  the  appendix.  The  production  of 
gold  during  1867  amounted  to  $517,140. 


EAST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  '   1 

THE   ALLEGHANY   GOLD   FIELDS. 

The  Appalachian  chain  takes  its  origin  in  Canada,  southeast  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  forms  a  broad  belt  of  mountain  ridges  extending  in  a  southwesterly  direc- 
tion to  Alabama.  The  entire  length  of  the  chain  is  about  1,300  miles ;  its  breadth 
is  variable/  gradually  expanding  towards  its  centre,  and  contracting  at  each 
extremity.  The  most  striking  feature  of  this  mountain  system  is  the  fact  that 
it  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  parallel  ridges,  very  numerous,  especially  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia,  no  one  of  which  can  be  considered  as  being  the  main  or 
central  chain  to  which  the  others  are  subordinate,  but  the  whole  forming  a  system 
of  flexures  which  gradually  open  out  from  the  southeast  to  the  northwest,  as  has 
been  made  evident  from  the  results  of  the  geological  surveys  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  under  the  direction  of  Professors  H.  1).  and  "W.  13.  Rodgers.  Along 
the  southeastern  edge  of  this  great  Appalachian  system  is  a  relatively  narrow, 
undulating  range,  known  under  different  names  in  the  different  States.  In  Ver- 
mont it  is  called  the  Green  mountains ;  in  New  York,  the  Highlands;  in  Penn- 
sylvania, the  South  mountains;  in  Virginia,  the  Blue  Ridge;  in  North  Carolina, 
the  Smoky  mountains.  The  rocks  of  this  belt,  which  has  a  width  of  10  or  15 
miles,  are  of  the  lower  palseozoic  age,  but  highly  metamorphosed,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  having  their  organic  remains  entirely  obliterated.  Still  further  to 
the  southeast  lies  the  great  auriferous  belt,  nearly  parallel  with  the  Blue  Ridge, 
and  not  easily  separated  from  it  in  geological  age,  either  lithologically  or  by 
palseontological  characters.  The  central  axis  of  this  belt  has  a  direction  in 
Virginia  of  about  north  32°  east ;  towards  the  north  it  assumes  a  more  nearly 
north  and  south  direction,  and  to  the  south  it  approaches  an  east  and  west  line. 
Its  width,  where  most  developed,  does  not  exceed  70  miles.  This  is  about  its 
extent  on  the  borders  of  North  and  South  Carolina.  In  Virginia  it  does  not 
exceed  15  miles.  Starting  from  Georgia  and  proceeding  northward,  we  find 
it  developed  in  the  following  counties :  In  Georgia,  in  Carroll,  Cobb,  Cherokee, 
Lumpkin,  and  Habersham  counties;  in  South  Carolina,  through  the  whole 
northwestern  corner  of  the  State,  especially  in  the  following  districts :  Abbeville, 
Pickens,  Spartanburg,  Uniony  York,  Lancaster ;  in  North  Carolina,  in  Mecklen- 
burg, Rutherford,  Cabarrus,  Rowan,  Davidson,  Guilford,  and  Rockingham; 
thence  through  Virginia,  in  Pitts3Tlvania,  Campbell,  Buckingham,  Fluvanna, 
Louisa,  Spottsylvania,  Orange,  Culpeper,  Fauquier;  in  Maryland,  Montgomery 
county.  Beyond  Maryland,  to  the  north,  the  indications  become  fainter,  and 
consist  only  in  a  few  scattered  lumps  or  fine  scales  occasionally  picked  up,  until 
we  reach  Canada,  where  there  is  a  considerable  extent  proved  to  be  auriferous. 

Throughout  this  whole  extent  the  auriferous  belt  presents  rocks  of  nearly  the 
same  character ;  they  are  slates  of  every  variety  intermixed  with  bands  of  a 
granite  and  syenitic  character.  The  predominating  kind  of  slate  is  talcose, 
passing  into  chloritic  and  argillaceous.  The  prevailing  dip  is  to  the  eas.t  at  a 
very  high  angle.  In  Virginia  they  stand  nearly  vertical.* 

Since  the  California  discovery  of  1848  little  attention  has  been  given  to  allu- 
vial mining  in  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  and  until  recently  capital- 
ists have  acquiesced  in  the  opinion  so  confidently  expressed  by  Sir  Roderick 
Murchison,  in  "  Siluria"  and  other  publications,  that,  notwithstanding  numerous 
filaments  and  traces  of  gold  near  their  surface,  the  Alleghany  vein-stones  held 
no  body  of  ore  downwards  which  would  warrant  deep  quartz  mining.  At  pres- 
ent, with  20  years'  experience  in  gold  mining ;  with  the  testimony  of  miners  in 
Colorado,  that  a  lode  apparently  closed  by  cap-rock  can  be  recovered  with 
increased  richness  at  a  lower  depth  ;  with  other  analogies,  however  imperfect, 
from  the  successful  treatment  of  pyritous  ores  in  Nova  Scotia ;  and  with  the 
earnest  application  of  inventive  minds  to  new  and  improved  processes  of  desul- 

phurization,  it  is  evident  that  the  working  of  the  southern  mines  will  be  resumed, 

— — — - — . — , — - — ~ — ~     . —  --  i 

*  Whitney's  Metallic  Wealth  of  the  United  States. 


20  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

perhaps   with  the  encouragement  of  a  scientific  survey  under  the  auspices  of  the 
general  government. 

The  deposits  of  gold  at  the  United  States  mint  and  its  branches  between 
1S04  and  1836,  from  the  States  traversed  by  the  Appalachian  gold-field,  are 
reported  as  follows : 

Virginia $1,570,182  82 

North  Carolina 9,278,627  G7 

South  Carolina 1 , 353, 6G3  93 

Georgia 6,971,681  50 

Alabama ~  .  .„ 201 , 734  83 

19, 375, 890  80 


If  we  admit  that  an  equal  quantity  passed  into  manufactures  or  foreign  com- 
merce without  deposit  for  coinage,  the  aggregate  production  would  be  about 
$40,000,000,  of  which  fully  three-fourths,  or  $30.000,000,  was  mined  between 
1828  and  1848. 

It  might  be  expected  that  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1867,  the  produc- 
tions of  the  southern  mines  would  reach  results  as  considerable  as  at  any  former 
period.  The  United  States  mint  and  branches  report  the  deposits  of  that  fiscal 
year  from  the  Alleghany  States  as  follows : 

Alabama §437  30 

Georgia 23,758  20 

South  Carolina 1,200  54 

North  Carolina •. 66,305  62 

Virginia 10,205  90 

;OG,9G7  56 


It  was  my  purpose  to  give  in  detail  the  organizations  for  gold  mining  in  the 
south  Atlantic  States,  with  practical  results,  but  so  far  the  attention  of  parties 
interested  has  been  so  exclusively  occupied  in  acquiring  titles  "and  preparing  for 
actual  operations,  that  it  seems  inexpedient  at  this  time  to  attempt  such  a  detailed 
statement.  Referring,  therefore,  to  my  preliminary  report  for  a,  review  of  the 
geological  and  mineralogical  features  of  the  region  in  question,  I  repeat  the  fol- 
lowing general  observations : 

1.  There  is  yet  much  room  for  the  vigorous  and  intelligent  prosecution  of 
alluvial  mining ;  especially  in  Georgia,  where  the  country  is  abrupt  and  nature 
has  subjected  the  auriferous  rocks  to  much  dislocation,  and  atmospheric  exposure, 
not  only  the  beds  of  the  rivers,  but  the  adjacent  detritus  of  their  vjdleys,  will 
unquestionably  give  large  returns  to  the  new  and  powerful  methods  for  washing 
ponderous  masses  of  earth.     It  is  understood  that  companies  are  now  organized 
who  propose  to  introduce  these  hydraulic  appliances  upon  the  Chestatee  and 
other  tributaries  of  the  Chattahoochee  river. 

2.  There  is  abundant  evidence,  also,  that  the  upper  portions  of  auriferous 
lodes  have  been  >n  a  remarkable  degree  desulphurized,  and  may  be  worked  to  a 
considerable  depth  with  great  advantage  before  the  intrusion  of  what  is  called 
"  cap "  in  Colorado,  or  before  the  main  body  of  the  vein  becomes  obstinately 
pyritiferous.     Surface  quartz  mining,  if  the  phrase  is  admissible,  will  warrant 
considerable  investments  whatever  subsequent  experience  shall  demonstrate  in 
regard  to  the  refractory  sulphurets.     It  may  be  admitted  that  hitherto  a  quart? 
so  modified  in  chemical  constitution  as  to  be  honey-combed,  having  become  cel- 
lular and  brittle  from  tho  decomposition  of  pyrites,  with  the  gold  set  free  from 
its  matrix,  is  the  only  material  which  it  is  profitable  to  reduce.     But  the  testi- 
mony is  ample  that  immense  quantities  of  ore  in  this  favorable  situation  are 
accessible  in  the  Allegheny  gold  district. 

3.  There  are  no  grounds  for  the  opinion  that  the  auriferous  lodes,  strongly 
marked  as  they  are  by  native  sulphurets,  will  not  prove  true  fissure  veins, 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  21 

improving  in  quantity  and  quality  with  their  depth.  Professor  Frederick  Over- 
man, in  a  work  entitled  "  Practical  Mineralogy,7'  published  in  1851,  claims  that  the 
pyritous  veins  of  Virginia  and  other  south  Atlantic  States  will  be  more  sure  and 
lasting  than  the  gold-bearing  localities  of  California.  If  the  lower  beds  of 
Colorado  mines  can  be  raised  and  reduced  with  profit,  deep  sinking  will  be 
equally  successful  in  the  Carolinas. 

METALLURGICAL  TPwEATMEXT. 

The  process  of  amalgamation  still  generally  prevails  in  the  mining  districts 
enumerated.  It  consists  in  reducing  auriferous  rock  to  a  fine  powder  by  means 
of  stamps,  arrastras,  Chilian  mills,  or  other  mechanical  contrivance,  and  subject- 
ing it  to  a  continuous  agitation  with  mercury,  with  water  enough  to  give  a  pasty 
consistency  to  the  mass,  the  object  being  to  expose  as  fully  as  possible  the  fine 
particles  of  gold  and  silver  to  the  attractive  power  of  the  mercury,  with  which 
they  form  an  amalgam  easily  separable  by  subsidence  in  the  lighter  pulp  of 
earthy  matter  of  which  the  ore  consists.  The  amalgam  thus  obtained  on  being 
subjected  to  moderate  heat  in  an  iron  retort  gives  up  its  mercury,  which  passes 
over  in  vapor  and  is  condensed  again  in  another  vessel,  the  metal  being  left  in 
the  retort. 

In  the  case  of  pyritic  ores,  however,  it  is  found  that  the  process  of  amalga- 
mation is  seriously  retarded  by  the  impurities  with  which  the  gold  and  silver  are 
associated.  Probably  the  ores  of  Colorado  do  not  yield  by  simple  amalgama- 
tion an  average  of  20  per  cent,  of  their  assay  value.  A  previous  process  of 
desulphurization  is  therefore  indispensable,  and  how  best  to  accomplish  this  is 
the  problem  which  has  occupied  the  attention  of  metallurgists  for  many  years. 
Many  methods  have  been  advised,  the  majority  of  which  being  merely  empir- 
ical have  had  but  an  ephemeral  reputation. 

The  opinion  is  widely  prevalent  that  smelting — the  attack  of  gold  or  silver 
bearing  ores  by  fire — will  be  the  final  and  indispensable  expedient  for  separat- 
ing the  precious  metals  from  its  matrix.  If  smelting  works  on  a  large  scale 
could  be  established  in  all  the  mining  Territories,  there  would  doubtless  ensue  a 
subdivision  of  labor  in  the  business  of  mining  gold  and  silver,  as  is  now  the 
case  in  iron  mining.  The  miner  would  limit  his  efforts  to  raising  ore  from  the 
mine,  and  the  smelting  furnace  would  afford  a  market  where  the  ore  might  com- 
mand its  price,  which  would  be  better  for  all  parties  than  the  method  hitherto 
pursued,  of  raising  and  reducing  ores  under  one  administration. 

But  at  present  there  are  two  great  obstacles  to  such  a  development  of  mining 
in  the  Rocky  mountain  districts,  and  perhaps  elsewhere :  excessive  prices  of 
machinery,  chemicals,  and  utensils,  resulting  in  a  great  degree  from  the  high 
rates  of  taxation,  external  and  internal  j  and  the  cost  of  transportation  west  of 
the  Missouri  river.  The  former  is  of  universal  application  j  the  latter  has  spe- 
cial reference  to  the  interior  districts  of  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Montana, 
as  well  as  other  western  Territories.  Except  for  these  causes  of  obstruction  the 
gold  and  silver  product  of  the  United  States  could  be  readily  doubled.  They 
will  be  considered  with  some  fulness  of  illustration. 

TAXATION. 

It  will  be  instructive  in  this  connection  to  compare  tho  taxation  of  Victoria, 
the  leading  province  of  Australia,  and  the  United  States,  premising  that  10  per 
cent,  in  addition  should  be  added  to  the  Victoria  rates,  to  express  the  difference 
of  freights,  interest,  and  insurance,  over  the  shorter  communication  between 
Europe  and  the  United  States.  Tables  have  been  compiled  from  the  American 
tariff  of  1867,  and  the  latest  revision  of  the  Victoria  tariff,  and  are  presented  in 
the  appendix  No.  V.  The  tariff  of  Victoria  has  been  recently  advanced  beyond 
the  average  of  the  other  Australian  colonies. 


22  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

The  taxation  of  Nova  Scotia  has  not  hitherto  exceeded  an  average  on  the 
dutiable  list  of  10  per  cent.,  although,  as  an  incident  of  confederation  with 
Canada,  it  has  been  recently  raised  to  20  per  centum. 

\  Far  the  largest  portion  of  the  importations  in  Victoria  are  charged  with  a 
duty  of  five  per  centum,  while  the  average  duties  on  the  whole  bulk  of  imports, 
under  the  tariff  of  the  United  States,  has  been  computed  by  the  special  commis- 
sioner of  revenue  at  42.71  per  cent. 

In  all  the  gold  districts  of  the  world,  the  opportunities  of  placer  mining  induce 
a  high  price  of  labor;  and  hence  the  great  necessity  that  government  shall 
impose  the  lowest  rates  of  taxation  consistent  with,  its  necessities  upon  machinery 
and  other  materials  or  utensils,  wliich  experience  has  proved  indispensable  to  the 
exploration  of  mines.  At  present  the  burden  inseparable  from  an  ill-adjusted 
revenue  system  is  a  grave  obstacle  to  the  increase  of  our  supply  of  the  precious 
metals. 

TRANSPORTATION. 

A  ton  of  ore  in  California  producing  $10  is  remunerative  of  capital  and  labor 
employed;  and  in  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  southern  States  it  is  profitable 
to  reduce  auriferous  or  argentiferous  rock  wrhere  the  average  yield  is  $8  per  ton. 
Yet,  in  the  mining  Territories  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  on  account  mainly  of  the 
cost  of  transportation,  a  lode  must  yield  $25  average  per  ton  to  warrant  its  occu- 
pation and  improvement. 

Some  statements  from  the  official  records  of  the  quartermasters'  bureau  of  the 
War  Department  will  illustrate  the  oppressive  freights  now  imposed  on  the  peo- 
ple of  the  remote  interior  by  the  necessity  of  wagon  transportation.  In  1865 
the  cost  of  transportation  of  a  pound  of  corn,  hay,  clothing,  subsistence,  lumber, 
or  any  other  necessary,  from  Fort  Leavenworth  to — 

Cents. 

-  Fort  Riley  was 2.46 

Fort  Union,  the  depot  for  New  Mexico 14. 35 

Santa  F6,  NCAV  Mexico 16.85 

Fort  Kearney 6.44 

Fort  Laramie 14.10 

Denver  City,  Colorado 15. 43 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 27.84 

The  cost  of  a  bushel  of  corn  purchased  at  Fort  Leavenworth  and  delivered 
at  each  of  these  points  was  as  follows : 

Fort  Riley $279 

Fort  Union 9  44 

Santa  Fe 10  84 

FortKearney 5  03 

Fort  Laramie 9  26 

DdnverCity 10  05 

Great  Salt  Lake  City 17  00 

To  the  last  point  none  was  sent. 

During  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1863,  the  Quartermaster  General 
estimated  the  cost  of  transportation  of  military  stores  westward  across  the  plains 
as  follows : 

1.  Northern  ami  -western  route : 

To  Utah  and  posts  oil  that  route 8 J ,  5'J4,  1 1'J  00 

2.  South-western  route : 

To  Fort  Union,  New  Mexieo,  and  posts  on  that  route $1,301,400 

To  posts  in  the  interior  of  Xew  Mexico 138, 178 

1,431),  578  00 

Cost  of  the  transportation  of  jn-aiii  on  above  routes,  where  the  grain  -\vas  delivered  by  con- 
tractors, and  the  transportation  entered  into  the  price  paid  the  same  veai : 

1.  Utah  route .. $2,  r.'JG,7-J7  <W 

2.  Xe\v  Mexico  route 697,101  GU 

3,  ±.'3,  &*J  37 

Cost;  of  transportation  of  military  stores  across  the  plains  same  year  by  government  trains : 

1.  Utah  route $34,  (i()() 

M.  XCAV  Mexico  route , 1  W>,  730 

201, 330  00 

Total  by  contract  and  government  trains *>,  388, 856  37 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  23 

Under  date  of  April  18,  1866,  General  M.  C.  Meigs,  Quartermaster  General, 
furnished  the  following  unofficial  statement : 

The  distances  to  the  northwest  are  great ;  the  interior  and  local  transportation  as  costly. 
The  use  of  the  Missouri  river,  however,  will  enable  the  government  to  place  a  large  part  of 
its  supplies  upon  the  upper  waters  of  that  river,  by  taking  advantage  of  the  summer  rise, 
and* thus  the  extent  of  land  transportation  will  be  reduced;  but,  until  the  Missouri  valley 
itself  is  settled,  the  navigation  will  continue  to  be  slow  and  perilous.  Steamers  are  now 
obliged^to  stop  from  day  to  day  to  cut  green  cottonwood  or  drift-wood  upon  the  banks,  and 
a  trip  to  the  upper  Missouri  is  a  season's  work.  Many  boats  are  wrecked ;  some  are  caught 
by  the  falling  waters  and  compelled  to  winter  on  the  upper  river.  Insurance  to  Fort  Benton, 
the  head  of  navigation,  costs  20  per  cent. ;  and  the  government  has  this  year  been  obliged 
to  engage  freight  from  St.  Louis  to- Forts  Berthold  and  Union,  old  trading  posts  now  about 
to  be  occupied  by  troops  as  military  posts,  at  $5  per  100  pounds,  or  $100  per  ton.  Fort 
Union  is,  in  a  direct  line,  380  miles  below  Fort  Benton ;  by  the  river  the  distance  is  probably 
one-half  greater.  From  Fort  Union  the  supply  of  the  troops  and  posts  throughout  Montana 
and  the  districts  supplied  from  the  east  will  be  by  wagon  trains.  On  the  well-travelled  and 
well-guarded  routes  of  the  central  and  southwestern  overland  trails  the  cost  of  this  transport- 
ation by  contract  last  year  averaged  45  cents  per  ton  per  mile.  The  contracts  for  the  present 
year  are  at  much  lower  rates,  but  in  the  remote  districts  of  the  northwest  such  favorable 
rates  cannot  be  expected  as  yet.  The  distance  from  St.  Louis  to  Fort  Benton  by  river  is 
estimated  at  3,450  miles  by  river  men.  The  cost  of  transportation  of  freight  to  that  point  is 
$350  to  $400  per  ton.  From  St.  Louis  to  Helena,  a  town  of  4,00.0  inhabitants,  which  has 
sprung  into  being  in  Montana  within  the  past  year,  the  estimated  cost  of  transportation  of 
freight  by  the  river  and  wngon  trail  is  $500  to  $600  per  ton. 

Within  the  last  two  years  the  construction  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  has 
contributed  to  the  reduction  of  the  aggregates-  paid  for  freight,  although  the 
wagon  rates  are  not  materially  diminished.  In  1866  the  rates  from  the  Missouri 
river  to  northern  Colorado,  Nebraska,  Dakota,  Idaho,  and  Utah  were  $1  45 ;  to 
southern  Colorado,  Kansas,  and  New  Mexico,  $1  38,  with  an  addition  from  Fort 
Union,  in  New  Mexico,  to  posts  in  that  Territory,  in  Arizona,  and  western  Texas, 
of  $1  79  per  100  pounds  per  100  miles.  The  total  number  of  pounds  trans- 
ported was  81,489,321,  or  40,774.10  tons,  at  a  cost  of  $3,314,495. 

A  prominent  citizen  of  Montana  authorizes  the  following  statements  of  the 
amount  paid  annually  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  by  the  people 
of  Montana  for  transportation.  During  1867  there  were  40  arrivals  of  steamers 
by  the  Missouri  river,  averaging  150  tons  of  freight,  an  aggregate  of  67000  tons. 
An  equal  quantity  was  delivered  by  wagons  from  the  west  a'nd  south.  He  esti- 
mates that  the  average  charges  for  freight  and  insurance  were  25  cents  per 
pound,  which,  on  12,000  tons,  would  be  not  less  than  $6,000,000.  If  the  pop- 
ulation of  Montana  is  30,000,  this  would  be  $200  per  capita ;  if  the  population 
is  60,000,  as  sometimes  claimed,  $100  per  capita.  A  merchant  is  deprived  for 
seven  months  of  the  year  of  the  use  of  his  capital — a  very  considerable  loss  of 
interest.  In  addition,  the  unavoidable  expenses  of  travel,  incident  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  country,  is  an  immense  tax.  A  trip  to  the  eastern  cities,  or  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  requires  a  direct  expenditure  of  $1,000.  It  is  estimated  that  20 
such  journeys  weekly  are  already  incident  to  the  intercourse  of  the  people  with 
the  business  centres  of  the  country ;  and  if  so,  another  million  must  be  added  to 
the  account  of  transportation  expenses.  The  wonder  is,  notwithstanding  the 
richness  and  productiveness  of  the  Montana  mines,  that  such  a  burden  can  be 
borne,  while  the  effect  upon  prices  can  be  readily  conceived. 

This  statement  of  the  amounts  paid  for  transportation  in  Montana  will  not 
seem  improbable  when  it  is  remembered  that  $13,000,000  in  gold  was  paid  in 
1863  for  transportation  eastward  from  San  Francisco  to  the  State  of  Nevada  and 
Territories  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 

The  progress  of  population  under  these  oppressive  conditions  in  the  mining 
States  and  Territories  of  the  west,  gives  an  assurance  that  the  construction  of 
an  adequate  railway  system  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific  coast  would 
be  attended  with  such  an  extension  of  settlements  as  would  justify  the  immediate 
reduction  of  rates  of  transportation  to  one-third  of  those  now  prevailing.  A 


24  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

large  saving  to  the  goverment  upon  its  unavoidable  movement  of  men  and  sup- 
plies would  also  follow. 

When  in  1853  the  initiative  of  Pacific  railroad  exploration  was  presented  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  resulting  in  a  congressional  appropriation  of  $150,000 
for  the  purpose,  attention  was  directed  to  three  routes — the  northern,  the  central, 
and  the  southern.  Legislation  has  followed  in  "behalf  of  one,  the  central,  not*  so 
much  from  any  demonstration  of  greater  feasibility,  but  because  the  mineral  dis- 
coveries of  the  interior,  followed  by  population,  suggested  the  selection.  The 
same  causes  are  now  active  on  the  two  other  routes.  Discoveries,  not  only  of 
gold  and  silver,  but  of  coal,  iron,  lead,  and  salt,  diversify  the  map  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  everywhere  within  our  boundaries;  and  an  emigration  from  the 
Pacific  coast  meets  the  Atlantic  column  even  upon  the  great  plains,  which  are 
drained  by  the  Missouri,  the  Platte,  and  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  necessity  of  more  than  one  route  between  the  Mississippi  States  and  the 
Pacific  coast  will  appear  from  an  enumeration  of  the  railroad  lines  which  are 
indispensable  to  the  commerce  between  the  Atlantic  and  interior  States.  These 
are  seven  well-defined  thoroughfares :  1.  From  Portland,  by  the  Grand  Trunk 
to  Detroit,  and  thence  with  a  traverse  of  the  State  and  lake  of  Michigan  to 
Milwaukee  and  La  Crosse.  2.  By  the  New  York  Central,  the  Great  Western, 
of  Canada,  and  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  railroad,  to  Prairie  du  Chien. 
3.  By  the  New  York  and  Erie,  the  lines  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  south  of  the  great 
lakes,  and  the  Illinois  Central,  to  Galena.  4.  The  Pennsylvania  Central  and 
its  western  connections  to  Rock  Island.  5.  The  Baltimore  raid  Ohio,  by  way 
of  Cincinnati  to  St.  Louis.  6.  From  Richmond,  through  the  Cumberland  val- 
ley to  Memphis.  7.  From  Charleston  and  Savannah,  traversing  the  States  of 
Georgia,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  to  Vicksburg  and  New  Orleans.  All  these 
highways  are  thronged  and  prosperous,  and,  with  the  wonderful  impulse  to  colo- 
nization and  commerce  induced  by  mining  investments,  the  period  seems  to  have 
arrived  when  a  wise  statesmanship  is  fully  justified  in  proposing  a  westward 
extension  of  continental  communications  upon  the  following  lines : 

First.  Through  the  southern  tier  of  States,  on  or  near  the  parallel  of  35°, 
which  is  central  to'  the  region  of  cotton,  the  sugar  cane,  and  the  vine,  and  which 
will  be  supported  by  the  populations  of  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Neosho,  (or  the 
territory  occupied  by  the  Cheroke6  and  Choctaw  Indians,)  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
Arizona,  Sonora,  and  southern  California.  This  may  be  called  the  gulf  route 
from  its  relations  to  the  gulfs  of  Mexico  and  California. 

Second.  The  central,  which  is  now  in  course  of  construction  on  the  average 
latitude  of  40°,  with  its  present  prestige  and  aid  from  the  federal  government  j 
the  speedy  construction  of  this  road  may  be  anticipated  in  1870.  If  in  opera- 
tion at  the  present  moment  the  road  would  be  financially  successful.  All  the 
resources  of  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado,  Utah,  Nevada,  and,  in  a  great  degree, 
of  Missouri  and  California,  are  pledged  to  such  a  result. 

Third.  The  lake  route,  hitherto  designated  in  congressional  debates  as  the 
northern  Pacific  route,  connecting  the  western  coast  of  the  great  lakes  and  the 
navigable  channel  of  the  Columbia  river  by  the  most  direct  and  feasible  com- 
munication with  which  the  Territories  and  future  States  of  Dakota,  Montana, 
Idaho,  and  Washington,  as  well  as  the  States  of  Minnesota  and  Oregon,  are 
identified. 

A  few  illustrations  will  be  given  of  the  possibilities  of  State  aid  in  behalf  of 
such  improvements  without  involving  permanent  financial  burdens. 

When,  10  years  ago,  India  was  exhausted,  by  a  mutiny  of  the  native  popu- 
lation, and  its  suppression  after  a  desperate  struggle,  a  railway  system,  pene- 
trating the  whole  of  the  peninsula  of  Hindostan,  was  deemed  essential  to  its 
military  occupation,  and  the  government  of  India  offered  a  guarantee  of  five 
per  cent,  on  the  stock  required  to  construct  and  equip  not  less  than  5,000  miles 
of  railroad.  The  total  amount  of  capital  raised  under  this  guarantee  to  April  1, 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS,  25 

1867,  was  d£67, 254,802  ;  but  of  this  amount  the  government  liability  has 
already  ceased  upon  <£42,5S4,649,  the  roads  constructed  with  that  sum  not  only 
paying  dividends  of  five  per  cent,  to  the  stockholders,  but  a  surplus  for  reim- 
bursement of  previous  advances  by  government.  Four  thousand  miles  of  rail- 
road have  thus  been  assured  to  India,  and  so  wisely  are  the  securities  adjusted 
that  this  immense  boon  to  the  people  will  not  be  attended  by  permanent  burdens 
to  the  finances  of  the  province.  With  the  aid  of  these  communications  India 
hopes  to  rival  the  United  States  in  the  production  of  cotton. 

The  province  of  Victoria,  in  Australia,  has  incurred  a  debt  of  ^£10,000,000 
in  the  construction  of  railways,  from  which  the  total  gross  revenues  in  the  year 
1865  amounted  to  c£717,162,  almost  sufficient,  after  the  deduction  of  current 
expenses,  to  discharge  an  interest  of  six  per  centum  on  their  cost  of  construc- 
tion. The  reduction  of  the  rates  of  transportation  from  Melbourne  to 'the  gold 
districts  of  Ballarat  and  Bendigo,  is  far  greater  than  we  have  ventured  to  antici- 
pate from  the  construction  of  railroads  through  the  western  Territories  of  the 
United  States. 

In  Belgium  the  state  is  a,  great  railway  proprietor,  and  the  state  railway  is 
the  largest  source  of  national  revenue.  It  was  the  first  work  of  the  kind 
ever  undertaken  by  a  government,  or  on  so  grand  a  scale  -by  any  proprietary. 
The  act  by  which  it  was  decreed  passed  in  1834,  and  in  1835  the  line  was  open 
from  Brussels  to  Marines.  In  1844  the  entire  length — 560  kilometres — was 
completed.  It  produced  to  the  State  a  gross  revenue  in  1863  of  31,750,000 
francs,  or  d£l,270,000,  and  a  net  revenue  of  16,000,000  francs,  or  66640,000. 
Other  lines  have  been  leased  by  the  state,  and  there  are  altogether  open  1,906 
kilometres,  equal  to  1,191  English  miles;  of  which  748  kilometres,  or  467 
English  miles,  are  in  the  hands  of  the  state,  and  the  residue  worked  by  com- 
panies. It  is  calculated  that  in  the  year  1884  the  net  revenue  will  amount  to 
24,000,000  francs,  or  d£960,000,  per  annum,  or  enough  to  pay  the  then  reduced 
(through  the  sinking  fund)  interest  of  the  national  debt.  As  each  conceded 
railway  lapses  gratuitously  to  the  state  in  90  years  from  the  period  of  its  con- 
struction, the  entire  system  will,  by  the  efilux  of  time,  become  national  property. 

The  growth  of  the  railway  system  of  France  dates  from  the  year  1840,  pre- 
vious to  which  there  were  but  few  lines  in  France.  For  a  time  the  idea  was 
entertained  of  making  all  the  railways  which  were  to  be  built  state  property, 
but  in  the  end  it  was  determined  and  settled  by  the  law  of  June  11,  1842 — mod- 
ified in  1858,  1859,  and  1863 — that  the  work  should  be  left  to  private  compa- 
nies, superintended,  however,  and,  if  necessary,  assisted  in  their  operations  by 
the  State.  The  French  railways  at  present  are  almost  entirely  (the  exception 
being  to  the  amount  of  less  than  200  miles)  in  the  hands  of  six  great  companies. 
The  length  of  lines  held  by  each  of  these  companies  on  January  1,  1867,  was 
as  follows :  Paris,  Lyons,  and  Mediterranean,  l,994f  miles ;  Eastern  of  France, 
1,559|  miles;  Orleans,  l,829f  miles;  Western  of  France,  l,05l£  miles;  North- 
ern of  France,  728J  miles,  and  Southern  of  France,  827^-  miles.  The  six  sys- 
tems combined  had  thus,  in  1867,  an  aggregate  of  7,989f  miles  in  operation. 
The  conventions  agreed  on  between  the  government  and  the  railway  companies 
in  the  years  1858,  1859,  and  1863  were  carried  into  effect  on  January  1,  1865. 
By  these  conventions  the  government  guarantees  4  per  cent,  interest  and  65c. 
for  a  sinking  fund ;  altogether,  4f.  65c.  per  cent,  on  the  capital  expended  in  the 
construction  of  a  certain  number  of  lines  classed  under  the  collective  title  of  new 
work,  (nouveau  reseau.)  The  sum  to  be  expended  by  the  six  great  companies 
was  estimated  at  7,100,000,000  francs,  and  the  works  executed  and  grants  made 
by  the  government  at  1,640,000,000  francs,  being  in  round  numbers  about  nine 
milliards  of  francs,  of  which  there  remain  only  about  2,500,000,000  francs  to  be 
expended.  It  is  expected  that  in  the  course  of  about  half  a  century  the  com- 
panies will  be  able  to  divide  their  surplus  receipts  with  the  government,  while 
at  the  expiration  of  the  99  years7  leases  granted  to  the  railway  companies  the 


26  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES  t 

railways  will  become  the  property  of  the  State,  which  will  gratuitously  receive 
the  total  amount  of  the  receipts,  which,  if  estimated  at  only  from  350,000,000 
to  400,000,000  francs,  will  pav  the  full  amount  of  the  interest  on  the  national 
debt. 

Of  the  Prussian  railways  six  lines  (the  most  important  that  from  Frankfort- 
on-the-Odor  to  Konigsburg  and  the  Russian  frontier,  101  German  miles  long) 
are  State  property ;  seven  others  are  under  government  rmtrol,  having  been 
partly  constructed  by  State  loans  or  subventions  5  and. the  rest  (about  two-thirds 
of  the  wrhole)  in  the  hands  of  private  companies.  The  State  railways  form  an 
important  source  of  public  revenue.  In  the  financial  estimates  for  the  year  1865 
the  general  receipts  of  the  state  railways  were  stated  at  14,197,000  thalers,  and 
the  expenditure  at  7,386,300  thalers,  showing  a  surplus  of  6,360,700  thalers,  of 
which  latter  the  sum  of  467,700  thalers  was  derived  from  the  Lower  Silesian 
railway,  4,000  thalers  from  the  Berlin  junction,  566,600  thalers  from  the  East- 
ern, 294,500  thalers  from  the  Westphalian,  and  256,700  thalers  from  the  Saar- 
bruck.  From  the  above  surplus  of  6,360,700  thalers  the  sum  of  4,889,257 
thalers  was  deducted  to  pay  off  loans  and  debts  contracted  for  railway  purposes, 
leaving  a  net  balance  of  1,471,443  thalers  towards  defraying  the  general  expenses 
of  the  State. 

The  total  length  of  railways  in  the  former  kingdom  of  Hanover  amounted  to 
550  English  miles  in  1863.  The  gross  receipts  of  the  same  in  the  year  ending 
July  1,  1863,  was  c£838,085,  and  the  net  revenue  .€419,754.  The  whole  of 
these  lines  are  State  property. 

The  public  debt  of  Wurtemburg  has  more  than  doubled  within  the  last  20 
years,  owing  to  the  establishment  of  the  railway  lines  of  the  kingdom,  the  whole 
of  which,  without  exception,  are  State  property.  According  to  an  official  return 
published  June  30,  1860,  there  had  been  expended  at  that  period,  both  for  rail- 
ways and  steamers,  a  sum  of  42,824,956  florins,  or  c£3,56S,746.  As  the  capital 
was  borrowed  at  from  3j  to  4J  per  cent.,  and  the  net  incomes  of  the  railways, 
all  expenses  deducted,  and  making  allowance  for  wear  and  tear,  amounted  to 
between  six  and  seven  per  cent.,  the  investment  so  made  contributed  consider- 
ably towards-  lightening  the  burdens  of  the  tax-payers.  The  length  of  the  lines 
given  to  the  traffic  amounted  on  October  15,  1861,  to  266  English  miles  5  but 
this  did  not  complete  the  whole  network  of  railways  which  is  expected  to  be 
finished  by  the  end  of  1867. 

All  the  railways  of  Baden  are  property  of  the  State,  giving  a  dividend  on  the 
capital  expended  of  above  six  per  cent.  The  accounts  of  the  income  and  expen- 
diture of  the  State  railways,  as  well  as  the  post  office  and  steam  navigation  on 
the  Lake  of  Constance,  are  not  entered  in  the  general  budget,  but  form  a  spe- 
cial fund. 

Further  illustrations  of  the  railroad  policy  of  Spain,  Austria,  and  Russia 
might  be  adduced,  showing  the  advantages  of  a  comprehensive  and  well-guarded 
system,  by  which  the  credit  of  the  state  is  in  the  first  instance  made  available 
for  the  exigencies  of  construction,  and,  with  the  great  resulting  benefits  to  the 
people,  soon  becomes  capitalized  to  the  relief  of  the  public  treasury.  There  is 
ho  finer  opportunity  for  an  enlightened  statesmanship  than  to  utilize  these  Euro- 
pean precedents  in  the  interest  of  a  national  system  of  railways  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri river,  but  the  province  of  this  report  will  hardly  admit  of  more  than  a 
bare  suggestion,  waiving  advocacy  or  details.* 

TREASURE   PRODUCT   OF   THE   WORLD. 

The  year  1848,  or  the  epoch  of  the  gold  discovery  in  California,  may  be 
selected  for  a  general  statement  of  the  amount  of  precious  metals  available  for 

*  The  statistics  of  European  railways  are  compiled  from  a  London  publication,  "The 
Statesman's  Year  Book  for  18Cd,"  by  Frederick  Martin. 


EAST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  27 

the  uses  of  currency  and  the  arts.  M.  Chevalier  estimates  the'  amount  as 
$8,500,000,000,  of  which  one-third  was  gold.  An  eminent  English  authority, 
Mr.  M.  W.  Newmarch,  states  the  probable  quantity  held  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica at  that  date  to  be  $6,800,000,000,  with  a  similar  proportion  of  silver  to  gold. 
The  difference  between  these  estimates,  or  $1,700,000,000,  may  be  accepted  as 
a  moderate  statement  of  the  quantities  of  gold  and  silver  in  those  countries  of 
Asia  and  elsewhere  which  have  not  been  closely  related  to  European  and  Amer- 
ican commerce. 

Since  1848  the  average  production  of  the  world  has  amounted  to  $200,000,000, 
but  the  proportions  of  gold  and  silver  have  been  reversed  j  fully  two-thirds  of 
the  aggregate  being  gold.  The  treasure  product  of  1867  is  slightly  increased 
above  this  average,  and  may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows : 

GoM.  Silver.  Total. 

United  States $60,000,000  $15,000,000  $75,000,000 

Mexico  and  South  America 5, 000, 000  35, 000, 000  40, 000, 000 

Australia 60,000,000  1,000,000  61,000,000 

British  America ,.       5,000,000  500,000  5,500,000 

Russia 15,000,000  1,500,000  16,500,000 

Elsewhere 25,000,000  2,000,000  27,000,000 


Total 170,000,000      55,000,000    225,000,000 

A  brief  analysis  of  the  reasons  for  this  estimate  will  be  given. 

The  commissioner  upon  the  mineral  statistics  of  the  Pacific  slope  has  pre- 
sented, in  his  general  communication  to  the  department,  sufficient  details -of  the 
treasure  product  of  the  United  States,  and  the  causes  of  its  decline  in  compar- 
ison with  former  years. 

In  regard  to  Mexico  and  South  America,  Humboldt  estimated  the  annual  pro- 
duce of  the  mines  of  Spanish  America  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
to  be  $43,500,000.  This  amount  was  increased  from  1800  to  1809,  fully  reach- 
ing $50,000,000  per  annum,  but  in  the  last-mentioned  year  the  contest  began 
which  terminated  in  the  dissolution  of  the  connection  between  Spain  and  her 
American  colonies.  The  convulsions  and  insecurity  arising  out  of  this  struggle, 
the  proscription  of  the  old  Spanish  families  to  whom  the  mines  principally 
belonged,  who  repaired  with  the  wrecks  of  their  fortunes,  some  to  Cuba,  some 
to  Spain,  and  some  to  Bordeaux  and  the  south  of  France,  caused  the  abandon- 
ment of  several  of  the  mines  and  an  extraordinary  falling  off  in  the  amount  of 
their  produce.  There  are  no  means  of  estimating  the  precise  extent  of  this 
decline,  but,  according  to  Jacob,  who  collected  and  compared  the  existing  infor- 
mation on  the  subject,  the  total  average  produce  of  the  American  mines,  inclu- 
sive of  Brazil,  during  the  20  years  ending  with  1829  may  be  estimated  at 
$20,000,000  a  year,  being  less  than  half  their  produce  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century. 

The  discovery  of  new  mines,  and  the  greater  cheapness  and  more  abundant 
supplies  of  quicksilver  obtained  from  California,  have  conspired,  with  other 
causes,  to  increase  the  produce  of  the  South  American  mines,  until,  in  1867, 
they  have  nearly  reached  the  productiveness  of  1800  j  and  the  above  estimate 
of  their  produce  may  bo  distributed  as  follows  : 

Mexico $23, 000, 000 

Peru 6,000,000 

Bolivia 2,000,000 

Chili 5,000,000 

Other  parts 4,000,000 


40, 000, 000 


The  latest  and  most  satisfactory  authority  upon  the  production  of  Australia 
consists  of  a  memorial  from  representatives  of  the  different  colonies  to  the  home 


28  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

government  upon  postal  communications  between  Australia  and  the  mother 
country,  dated  April  1,  1867,  in  which  occurs  a  table  of  exports  of  the  associ- 
ated colonies  during  1865,  giving  the  item  of  gold  as  follows  : 

Victoria £6, 190, 317 

New  South  Wales 2,  G47, 688 

New  Zealand * 2,226,474 

Queensland 101,3f>2 


Total J  1,165, 811 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  single  colony  of  Victoria  produced,  in  1852, 
a  gross  amount  of  <£1 4,866,799,  far  exceeding  the  entire  aggregate  from  all  the 
Australian  colonies  at  this  time.  New  South  Wales,  in  1852,  produced 
c£3,000,000  also  in  excess  of  the  present  productions  of  that  colony.  Xew 
Zealand  has  recently  gone  far  to  supply  the  deficiencies,  and  other  gold  fields 
arc  in  course  of  discover}-,  and  hence  the  foregoing  aggregate  of  $61,000,000, 
adding  to  the  exports  of  the  different  colonies  about  36,000,000,  may  bo 
accepted  as  a  probable  statement  of  the  Australian  treasure  product. 

The  annual  production  of  Russia  was  stated,  in  1858,  by  J.  R.  McCulloch, 
in  a  treatise  upon  the  precious  metals,  to  be  87,500,000  francs,  or  ^£3,500,000, 
slightly  exceeding  the  foregoing  estimate.  Late  discoveries  of  placer  mines 
upon  the  Amoor,  in  eastern  Siberia,  will  probably  lead,  during  1868,  to  large 
additions  to  the  annual  average  hitherto  prevailing. 

Mr. .  McCulloch  estimated  the  total  supply  of  gold  and  silver  in  135S  as 
follows : 

America,  excluding-  California .' -.  .„ $45.000,000 

Asiatic  Russia 17,500,000 

Europe - 7,750,000 

California ~ 70,000,000 

Australia 55,000,000 

195,250,000 


If  to  this  amount  we  add  $25,000,000,  representing  the  production  of  Japan, 
China,  India,  Polynesia,  and  Africa,  the  total  amount  will  be  8220,250,000. 

Great  uncertainty  attends  the  question  of  the  probable  production  of  the  pre- 
cious metals  in  the  countries  last  named,  described  by  M.  Chevalier  as  "coun- 
tries imperfectly  accessible  to  the  commerce  of  the  world."  The  French  econo- 
mist does  not  materially  differ  from  the  estimates  of  McCulloch  in  regard  to 
America,  Europe,  and  Australia,  rinding  a  total  value  of  8202,000,000  for  the 
year  1865;  but  his  estimate  of  the  oriental  product  far  exceeds  any  English  or 
American  opinion  upon  that  subject.  For  instance,  ho  presents  the  following- 
table: 

Africa $7,000,000 

India 5,500,000 

Polynesia 17,000,000 

China 31,000,OQO 

Japan 15,000,000 

Total 75,500,000 


M.  Chevalier  thus  obtains  the  annexed  aggregate  for  the  entire  product  of 
the  globe  after  1848  and  before  1865  : 

European  and  American §202, 000, 000 

Asiatic  and  African 75,500,000 

Total..  .     277,500,000 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  29 

He  supplements  this  statement  by  the  total  quantity  wliicli  from  1848  to  1864, 
or  during  17  years,  was  placed  at  the  disposition  of  the  world  : 

Silver $1, 100, 000, 000 

Gold 3, 000, 000,  000 


Total 4,100,000,000 


Except  for  the  high  estimate  of  Asiatic  production  there  will  be  no  material 
dissent  from  the  foregoing  conclusions  of  M.  Chevalier.  All  modern  experience 
indicates  that  the  era  of  placer  mining  is  soon  terminated  and  must  have  long 
since  passed  away  in  Asiatic  countries.  There  is  little  evidence  of  elaborate 
methods  either  of  alluvial  or  mechanical  mining,  and  the  sum  of  $25,000,000 
per  annum  is  therefore  submitted  instead  of  $75,000,000  as  the  production  of 
gold  and  silver  beyond  the  great  mining  centres. 

If  we  grant  the  accuracy  of  M.  Chevalier's  estimate  of  the  total  amount  of 
gold  and  silver  in  1848,  and  assume  that  the  sum  of  $250,000,000  per  annum 
will  be  the  average  annual  production  from  1848  to  1880,  it  will  then  require 
the  period  between  those  dates,  or  30  years,  to  duplicate  the  world's  supply  of 
precious  metals. 

The  activities  of  commerce  and  the  developments  of  human  industry,  accel- 
erated beyond  all  former  precedent  by  the  .progress  of  the  arts,  will  probably 
prove  sufficient  for  the  absorption  of  this  vast  quantity  of  the  precious  metals 
without  convulsion  of  prices  or  values.  The  cotton  trade  with  India  transferred 
within  seven  years  $500,000,000  almost  entirely  in  silver.  The  extension  of 
railways  and  the  construction  of  works  of  irrigation  in  India  have  absorbed 
another  $500,000,000  of  English  capital,  and  there  are  evidences  that  the  accu- 
mulations of  European  and  American  wealth  are  henceforth  to  be  diffused  under 
ample  international  guarantees  over  all  the  continents.  If  so,  there  wrill  be 
ample  room  and  demand  for  any  apparent  excess  of  the  precious  metals. 
Europe  and  America  w7ill  substitute  gold  for  silver  as  money,  while  Asia  will 
probably  continue  to  absorb  silver  for  many  years  to  come,  before  the  ratio  of 
currency  to  population  now  existing  in  Europe  shall  extend  over  the  eastern 
world. 

A  brief  statement  will  illustrate  the  extent  of  the  oriental  demand  for  the 
precious  metals,  which,  now  mostly  confined  to  silver,  will  hereafter,  or  as  soon 
as  the  world  shall  desire  it,  extend  to  gold.  India,  in  1857,  had  a  circulating 
medium  of  $400,000,000  for  the  use  of  a  population  of  180,000,000,  or  $2.22 
per  capita.  France  has  a  population  of  38,000,000,  with  a  money  supply  of 
$910,000,000,  or  $24  per  capita.  Suppose  China,  Japan,  and  the  other  indus- 
trious populations  of  Asia  to  be  in  the  situation  of  India,  and  that  the  current 
of  bullion  since  1853  has  supplied  the  Asiatics  with  $3  per  capita,  there  yet 
remains  a  difference  of  $21  per  capita  before  the  monetary  level  of  France  is 
attained,  demanding  a  further  supply  of  $21  per  capita  ever  a  population  of 
600,000,000,  or  not  less  than  $12,600,000,000. 

The  railway  system  will  soon  connect  Europe  and  Asia,  and  constitutes  a 
most  important  agency  for  the  transfer  of  capital  and  distribution  of  money 
among  the  populations  of  the  eastern  continent.  Since  the  suppression  of  the 
Indian  mutiny  an  English  writer  estimates  that  more  than  <£100,000,000  sterling 
have  been  added  to  the  currency  and  reproductive  capacity  of  India,  mostly 
from  England,  in  the  construction  of  railroads  and  canals.  There  were  3,186 
miles  of  railway  in  operation  in  1865,  having  cost  $86,000  per  mile,  and  having 
been  constructed  with  the  aid  of  a  guarantee  of  five  per  cent,  to  stockholders 
by  the  province  of  India.  The  system  for  which  the  government  indorsement 
is  already  given  will  be  4,917  miles  of  railway,  at  an  estimated  cost  or 
c£77,500,000.  These  roads  will  relieve  the  government  of  liability  when  their 
earnings  reach  d£25  per  mile  per  week,  a  point  which  the  leading  lines  have 


30  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

nearly  reached,  and  which  all  are  destined  to  attain.  Such  is  the  success  of 
Indian  railways  that  their  connection  with  Europe  by  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates, 
and  their  extension  into  China,  will  probably  be  accomplished  within  the  next 
10  years.  By  that  time  Russia  will  have  undertaken  a  railway  from  Moscow 
to  Pekin  through  southern  Siberia — a  great  trunk  line  that  would  soon  justify  a 
series  of  southern  lines  penetrating  central  Asia  over  those  leading  caravan 
routes  which  have  been  the  avenues  of  Asiatic  commerce  for  centuries. 

If  an  investment  of  $430,000,000  in  5,000  miles  of  railway  is  financially  sue 
oessful  in  Hindostan  at  this  time,  it  may  be  anticipated  that  a  population  of 
180,000,000  will  warrant  the  enlargement  of  the  system  within  the  present 
century  fully  four-fold,  which  would  be  only  a  fifth  of  similar  communications 
required  and  supported  by  an  European  or  American  community.  Suppose  such 
a  ratio  of  railway  construction  extended  over  China,  central  and  western  Asia, 
and  Siberia,  it  would  be  only  one  mile  for  every  9,000  people,  while  in  the 
United  States  there  are  36,000  miles  for  36,000,000  people,  or  a  mile  to  every 
thousand;  and  yet  the  Asiatic  ratio,  moderate  as  it  is,  presents  the  startling 
result  of  66,000  miles  of  railroad  constructed  by  the  expenditure  of  $5,676,000,000. 
Such  a  disbursement  of  European  accumulations  in  Asia  would  go  far  to  diffuse 
not  only  the  blessings  of  civilization,  but  any  excess  of  production  from  the  gold 
and  silver  mines  of  the  world. 

In  Australia  a  railway  has  been  constructed  from  Melbourne  to  the  Ballarat 
gold  fields,  380  miles,  at  a  cost  of  $175.000  per  mile,  which  pays  a  net  profit 
nearly  equal  to  the  interest  on  the  immense  investment.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate 
the  amounts  destined  to  be  absorbed  for  railways  in  all  the  continents,  under 
the  direction  of  the  great  powers  of  the  world — projected,  constructed,  and  admin- 
istered by  the  wealth  and  intelligence  of  America,  Russia,  England,  Germany 
and  France. 

GENERAL   OBSERVATIOXS. 

It  is  deemed  expedient  to  reserve  for  a  subsequent  report  the  detailed  state- 
ments of  mining  enterprises  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  Many  of  the  organi- 
zations for  quartz  mining  in  Colorado  and  Montana  yet  await  the  results  of 
scientific  investigations  into  the  best  methods  of  reducing  the  ores  of  gold  and 
silver;  while  in  the  Alleghany  district  other  causes  have  intervened  to  postpone 
a  large  number  of  mining  operations.  The  summer  of  1868  will  doubtless  supply 
the  materials  of  a  full  and  comprehensive  report  upon  tin's  topic. 

The  act  of  July  26,  1866,  extending  facilities  for  acquiring  titles  to  mineral 
lands,  marks  a  most  important  epoch  in  the  progress  of  mining  enterprise  upon 
this  continent.  Secretary  McCulloch,  in  his  report  of  1865,  suggested  that  the 
principle  of  pre-emption,  so  long  applied  to  the  sale  of  agricultural  lands  in  the 
west,  should  be  extended  in  favor  of  the  holders  of  claims  to  gold  and  silver 
mines  on  the  public  domain.  A  bill  to  this  effect  w^as  furnished  to  Senator 
Sherman,  wliich,  after  much  discussion,  was  matured  into  the  act  of  July  26, 
1866.  Under  the  careful  instructions  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office,  this  legislation  has  been  received  with  great  favor  on  the  Pacific  slope. 
By  its  provisions  freedom  of  exploration,  free  occupation  of  government  lands 
for  placer  mining,  a  right  to  pre-empt  quartz  lodes  previously  held  and  improved 
according  to  local  customs  or  codes  of  mining,  the  right  of  way  for  aqueducts  or 
canals,  not  less  essential  to  agriculture  than  to  mining,  and  the  extension  of  the 
homestead  and  other  beneficent  provisions  of  the  public  land  system  in  favor  of 
settlers  upon  agricultural  lands  in  mineral  districts,  have  been  established  as 
most  important  elements  for  the  attraction  of  population  and  the  encouragement 
of  mining  enterprises.  The  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office  has  carefully 
analyzed  this  enactment,  and  greatly  facilitated  its  execution  by  a  circular 
recently  issued.  The  spirit  of  the  legislation  under  consideration  is  in  the  interest 
of  actual  settlement  and  occupation,  and  adyerse  to  absentee  ownership  for  merely 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  31 

speculative  purposes  of  mining  properties.  It  will  probably  be  necessary  to 
supplement  the  act  in  question  by  some  general  revision  of  the  local  mining 
customs,  which,  although  generally  founded  on  the  Spanish  code  so  long  in  use 
in  Mexico,  are  often  incongruous  and  obscure. 

The  most  practicable,  and  economical  methods  of  desulphurizing  the  refractory 
ores  which  characterize  the  Atlantic  mines  having  been  made  by  the  Secretary 
a  special  subject  of  inquiry,  no  effort  will  be  made  on  the  present  occasion  to 
anticipate  its  progress  and  conclusions. 

I  beg  leave  to  renew  a  former  suggestion,  €hat  the  metalliferous  localities  of 
the  Alleghanies  south  of  the  Potomac  river  shall  be  carefully  explored  under 
national  auspices. 

JAMES  W.  TAYLOR. 

Hon.  HUGH  McCuLLocn, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury 


32  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

APPENDIX. 


SECTION   I. 

ARTESIAN   WELLS 

[Extract  from  a  geological  rccoiinoissonce  of  Arkansas,  by  David  Dale  Chvcn,  iu  1859'-'60.j 

It  may  be  useful  and  interesting  in  tbis  place  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  a  few  indi- 
-idual  artesian  wells  of  particular  interest,  either  on  account  of  their  great  depth,  their  large 
diameter,  or  the  great  volume  of  water  which  they  afford. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  artesian  wells  bored  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  is  that  sunk  by 
Messrs.  C.  J.  and  A.  B.  Dupont,  in  the  city  of  Louisville,  This  well  is  three  inches  in  the 
bore,  and  2,086  feet  deep.  The  water  flows  from  this  well  at  the  rate  of  330,000  gallons  in  24 
hours,  or  264  gallons  per  minute,  with  a  mechanical  force  equal  to  a  10-horse  power  steam 
engine.  The  water  rises  by  its  own  pressure,  when  confined  in  tubes,  170  feet  above  the 
surface.  When  the  whole  force  of  the  water  is  allowed  to  expend  itself  on  the  central  jet,  if. 
is  projected  ]00  feet,  settling  down  to  a  steady  flow  of  a  stream  60  feet  high  at  the  above  ratr: 
of  330,000  gallons  in  the  24  hours.  The  water  is  perfectly  clear  of  a  temperature  of  76^c 
Fahrenheit,  the  year  round.  It  is  highly  charged  with  mineral  properties,  being  a  strong 
saline,  sulphuretted  water,  similar  in  its  composition  and  medical  properties  to  the  celebrated 
Kissinger  waters  of  Bavaria,  and  the  Blue  Licks  of  Kentucky.  This  well  was  commenced 
in  April,  1857,  and  completed  in  16  months. 

The  well  bored  by  Mr.  William  H.  Belcher,  of  St.  Louis,  was  commenced  in  1849,  and  in 
1853  was  1,590  feet  deep,  at  which  depth  a  copious  stream  of  "sulphur  water  issues,"  which 
is  said  to  be  similar  in  its  properties  to  the  Blue  Lick  water  of  Kentucky. 

This  well  was  commenced  as  a  cistern,  at  the  surface  of  the  ground, "14  feet  diameter ;  at 
30  feet  deep,  6  feet  diameter;  thence  it  diminishes  to  16  inches  diameter,  at  78  feet  deep. 
The  bore  is  then  9  inches,  and  this  diameter  is  continued  to  457  feet ;  thence  to  the  depth  of 
1,509  feet  it  is  3£  inches. 

At  550  feet,  at  the  top  of  a  limestone,  the  water  became  salty;  200  feet  below  this,  in  a 
layer  of  shale,  the  water  contained  l|  per  cent,  of  salt.  At  965  feet,  below  a  bed  of  bitumin- 
ous marl,  the  water  contained  2£  per  cent,  of  salt.  The  hardest  rock  was  a  bed  of  chert,  at  a 
depth  of  1,179  feet,  and  62  feet  thick.  In  this  rock  the  water  contained  3  per  cent,  of  salt. 

This  well  was  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1849,  and  reached  its  depth  of  2,199  feet  on  the 
12th  of  March,  1854.  During  these  five  years  the  work  was  at  times  intermitted  for  months, 
so  that  the  time  actually  employed  was  only  33  months,  and  cost  about  $10,000.  There  is  a 
constant  flow  of  water  from  this  well  of  75  gallons  per  minute. 

Three  artesian  wells  have  been  bored  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  The  first  was  carried  1 10  feet ; 
but  not  reaching  the  rock,  was  abandoned,  the  quicksand  coming  in  in  such  quantities  that 
they  could  not  exclude  it  by  tubing. 

The  second  well  was  tubed  down  54  feet,  with  cast-Iron  piping,  six  inches  interior  diameter. 
The  boring  was  then  continued  to  the  rock,  122  feet.  Wrought-iron  pipes  of  smaller  size 
were  forced  down,  but  broke  at  the  second  joint  from  the  lower  end.  The  pipe  was  with- 
drawn, and  a  pump  let  down,  when  the  well  was  found  to  be  cleared  of  obstructions  to  the 
rock.  The  reamer  was  then  sent  down,  and  went  freely  till  at  the  depth  of  100  feet  it  began 
to  rub.  The  pump  was  then  sent  down ;  the  well  had  become  filled  with  sand  and  gravel  66 
feet,  and  after  prolonged  labor,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  sand  ran  into  the  well  as  fast  as  it 
could  be  taken  out.  Various  contrivances  were  resorted  to  to  stop  this  obstruction,  but 
without  effect;  so  that,  on  the  4th  of  November,  1857,  this  boring  was  also  abandoned.  A 
contract  was  now  made  on  the  4th  of  November  with  Mr.  Fleming  Spangler  to  bore  a  new 
well,  with  the  understanding  that  he  was  to  tube  it  into  the  rock  within  18  or  20  days,,  or 
receive  no  pay. 

The  new  well  was  commenced  by  sinking  a  pit,  and  cribbing  it  down  with  circular  crib- 
bing, which,  on  the  16th  day  of  November,  reached  the  depth  of  29  feet.  After  considerable 
labor,  by  alternate  boring  and  tubing,  Mr.  Spangler  finally  succeeded  on  the  31st  of  January, 
1858,  in  penetrating  the  limestone  rock  248  feet,  at  a  depth  of  371  feet  from  the  surface.  He 
then  contracted  to  bore  to  the  depth  of  1,000  feet  from  the  surface  for  $1  50  per  foot,  having 
thus  far  averaged  about  five  to  six  feet  in  the  rock-borings  per  day. 

A  vein  of  sulphur  water  was  struck  at  180  feet  on  the  22d  of  December,  1857.  The  borings 
were  continued,  with  occasional  cessation  of  labor,  up  to  the  llth  of  December,  having  thea 
reached  a  depth  of  1,858  feet,  -without,  however,  up  to  that  date  having  reached  any  consid- 
erable body  of  artesian  water,  and  it  is  probable  from  the  details  of  the  borings  that  they 
will  have  to  go  from  300  to  500  feet  more  through  blue  limestones,  marly  shales,  and  Ken- 
tucky river  marble-rock,  before  reaching  the  porous  sandstones,  in  which  there  is  the  best 
chance  of  obtaining  a  body  of  water. 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.'  33 

In  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  the  two  great  reservoirs  of  artesian  water  are  the  two  great 
porous  sandstones,  alternating  with  and  resting  on  the  shales,  which  form  the  impervious 
layers  that  hold  up  the  water.  One  of  these  great  sandstone  series  constitutes  the  mill-sione 
grit  at  the  base  of  the  coal  measures ;  the  other,  the  lowest  fossiliferous  sandstones  and  cal- 
ciferous  sand-rock,  subordinate  to  the  blue  limestone  and  Kentucky  river  marble-rock  of  the 
west. 

The  water  obtained  in  the  first  of  these  reservoirs  is  almost  invariably  a  strong  brine  ;  in 
the  latter,  so  far  as  experience  goes  it  is  a  mineral  water,  strongly  charged  with  a  variety  of 
saline  substances,  and  impregnated  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas ;  hence,  though  the  two 
first  artesian  borings,  cited  above,  were  eminently  successful,  as  far  as  obtaining  a  large 
body  of  mineral  water  was  concerned,  yet  they  may  be  considered  entire  failures,  as  far  as 
obtaining  a  body  of  pure  water  fit  for  manufacturing  purposes,  or  domestic  use. 

Both  these  water  horizons  exist  in  Arkansas ;  in  fact,  the  millstone  grit,  as  already  stated, 
has  a  most  extraordinary  development  in  that  State,  and  many  localities  have  been,  and  will 
hereafter  be  recorded,  where  profitable  brines  might  be  obtained  in  this  geological  formation, 
by  a  judicious  selection  of  locality,  and  well  conducted,  systematic  borings. 

There  are  also  other  water  horizons  in  the  southern  counties  of  Arkansas,  which  can  be 
reached  by  borings  through  the  tertiary  and  cretaceous  formations ;  but,  so  far  as  experience 
goes,  artesian  waters  obtained  therefrom  will  be  more  or  less  charged  with  mineral  matter. 

As  AVC  have  some  of  the  records  of  an  artesian  well  sunk  through  equivalent  formations  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  it  may  be  well  in  this  place  to  give  a  few  of  the  statistics  of  this 
boring. 

Few  wells  have  presented  as  many  difficuties,  or  called  for  greater  skill  and  perseverance 
in  the  engineer.  The  surface  soil  is  loose  sand  for  20  feet,  die  lower  half  of  which  is  satu- 
rated with  water ;  next  a  stiff,  compact  clay,  about  40  feet  thick,  also  water-bearing.  At  60 
feet,  firm  marl  commences,  alternating  with  some  rock  more  or  less  indurated,  in  all  150  feet 
thick.  Below  this  occur  the  cretaceous  strata,  differing  but  little  lithologically  from  the 
layers  of  the  tertiary  formation  above ;  both  formations  being  alternations  of  firm  marl, 
sandstone,  and  loose  sands,  alternating  with  layers  of  hard  limestone,  seldom  containing  less 
than  20  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime.  Fifty-four  rocks,  varying  from  2  to  10  feet  each,  and 
measuring  in  the  aggregate  250  feet,  were  penetrated  by  the  boring.  Cast-iron  tubes,  six 
feet  interior  diameter,  were  sunk  80  feet  to  exclude  superficial  sands :  but  these  gradually 
worked  their  way  down,  and  continued  to  flow  under  the  bottom  of  the  tube.  Finally,  how- 
ever, the  solid  rock  Was  reached  at  230  feet.  But  even  here  the  difficulties  did  not  end ; 
for,  under  each  solid  rock,  quick  or  loose  sand  generally  occurred,  and  flowed  into  the  well, 
so  as  often  to  fill  it  up,  and  sometimes  almost  instantly,  60  to  100  feet.  Large  chambers 
were  thus  formed  under  many  of  the  rock  strata.  Sometimes,  in  the  morning,  the  well  would 
be  found  filled  50  to  100  feet,  and  even  140  feet,  with  sand.  At  700  feet,  so  much  sand  con- 
tinued to  flow  in  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  proceed,  and  there  was  no  resource  but  to  tube 
down  into  it  and  through  it,  and  to  do  this  the  well  had  to  be  reamed  out  to  a  larger  size,  thus 
taxing  the  ingenuity  of  the  engineer  severely  to  overcome  all  the  various  obstacles  to  success. 
At  1,020  feet  the  sands  agaiu  came  in,  so  as  frequently  to  fill  up  the  well  100  feet;  but  the 
difficulty  was  finally  overcome  by  retubing  with  larger  wrought-iron  tubes,  which  were  sunk 
to  1,102  feet,  and  the  boring  continued  43  feet  lower,  or  1,145  feet.  The  temperature  at  900 
feet  was  82-J°  Fahrenheit. 

Subsequent  to  this  date,  the  Charleston  well  was  sunk  to  the  depth  of  1,250  feet,  and 
yields  30,000  gallons  of  water  in  21  hours,  which  rises  10  feet  above  the  surface.  Another 
has  now  been  commenced  at  the  same  place,  12  inches  in  diameter,  and  has  already  reached 
the  depth  of  l.OOOjfeet. 

On  the  22d  of  April,  1857,  an  artesian  well  was  commenced  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  and, 
after  sinking  to  the  depth  of  216  feet,  a  vein  of  water  finally  overflowed  the  well  on  the  18th 
of  February,  1858.  The  boring  was  then  continued  to  the  depth  of  230  feet.  Great  delay 
and  an  unnecessary  cost  of  $1,000  were  incurred,  in  consequence  of  one  of  the  cast-iron  pipes 
breaking  in  being  forced  into  its  place.  This  well  delivered  on  the  3d  of  September  one  wine 
gallon  of  mineral  water  in  15.  8  seconds,  which  is  equal  to  a  discharge  of  1,468  gallons  in  24 
hours,  sufficient,  if  the  surplus  water  be  properly  saved,  for  all  the  purposes  of  a  first-class 
watering  place.  This  mineral  water  contains,  according  to  Dr.  C.  M.  Wetherill,  400  grains 
of  solid  matter  to  the  gallon.  For  an  analysis  of  this  water,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  report 
on  this  well,  made  by  C.  M.  Wetherill,  Ph.  D.,  M.  D. 

The  well  from  which,  the  name  Artesian  was  originally  derived  was  bored  more  than  a  cen- 
tury ago  at  Aire,  in  Artois,  in  France,  and  has  flowed  steadily  ever  since.  The  water  rises 
11  feet  above  the  ground,  and  supplies  nearly  250  gallons  per  minute. 

The  Crenelle  well,  at  Paris,  was  commenced  in  1834  and  completed  in  1841,  at  which  timfe 
the  rod  suddenly  descended  several  feet,  and  shortly  after  the  water  rose  to  the  surface  in  vast 
quantities.  For  the  first  50  feet  the  boring  was  12  inches  in  diameter,  which  was  reduced  to 
nine  inches,  and  then  carried  to  a  depth  of  1,100  feet ;  a  further  reduction  was  made  to  seven 
and  a  half  inches,  until  the  depth  of  1,300  feet  was  reached  ;  and  a  final  diminution  to  six 
inches,  till  the  termination  of  the  well  at  1,806  feet.  From  the  completion  of  the  well  to  the 
present  time  there  has  been  a  steady  flow  of  over  500,000  gallons  in  24  hours,  of  a  tempera- 
ture of  81°  Fahrenheit. 

3   T 


34  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

The  Kissinger  well  in  Bavaria  is  1,878  feet;  the  last  138  feet  the  boring-  passes  through 
rock  salt.  From  this  well  100  cubic  feet  of  water  gushes  forth  every  minute.  The  water 
contains  3|  per  cent,  of  salt. 

The  artesian  well  at  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  is  over  39  inches  in  diameter.  This  well  was 
bored  by  a  peculiar  drill,  weighing  about  3,500  pounds,  managed  by  a  grapple,  which  opens 
as  it  descends,  and  then  closes,  when  it  is  raised  by  means  of  a  parallelogram  connected  at 
the  angles  with  two  cords  reaching  up  to  the  top  of  the  well,  where  thoy  may  be  managed 
with  the  hand,  or  by  means  of  machinery.  The  drill  below  is  constructed  with  seven  teeth 
of  cast  steel,  fitted  to  drive  into  the  bed  of  rock,  or  abrade  it.  The  drill  has  a  shank  by 
which  it  may  be  seized  and  lifted.  The  whole  is  worked  by  a  24  to  30  horse-power  engine. 
The  grapple  closes  at  the  bottom,  seizing  the  handle  of  the  drill,  then  rises  with  the  drill 
several  feet,  opens,  and  lets  the  drill  fall.  Thus  the  drill  rises  and  falls  20  or  30  times  a 
minute.  After  working  12  hours,  the  rods  are  taken  out,  the  sand  pump  let  down,  and  the 
sand  and  mud  withdrawn,  and  the  rods,  grapple,  and  drill  again  let  down  and  set  to  work. 
To  work  this  apparatus  requires  only  six  men,  and  the  cost  of  working  is  about  $3  per  foot. 

In  1857,  this  well  had  reached  a  depth  of  1,427  feet,  and  they  hoped  in  October  to  reach 
the  main  source  of  water  below  the  chalk. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1 858,  the  French  engineer,  M.  Jus,  commenced  boring  an  artesian  well 
in  the  Sahara  desert,  Africa,  in  the  province  of  Constantine  ;  and  on  the  19th  of  June  a  jet  of 
water  of  about  1,000  gallons  per  minute  flowed  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  61°.  24  Fahrenheit.  The  joy  of  the  inhabitants  was  unbounded  when  they  witnessed 
this  extraordinary  spectacle,  and  caused  them  to  regard  a  people  who  could  bring  about  such 
a  marvel  as  to  cause  water  to  gush  forth  from  the  arid  desert  as  truly  beings  of  a  superior  race. 

Subsequently  four  other  wells  were  bored  in  the  desert:  one  at  Temakin,  yielding  eight 
gallons  per  minute;  one  in  the  oasis  of  Tamelhat,  which  gave  120  litres  of  water  per  minute; 
one  in  the  oasis  of  Sidi  Nached,  yielding  4,300  litres  of  water  from  the  depth  of  54  metres, 
the  oasis  having  been  completely  ruined  by  drought;  one  also  in  Oum  Thiur,  which  yields 
108  litres  of  water  per  minute ;  and  a  sixth  well  has  been  sunk  at  Shegga. 

A  remarkable  artesian  well  was  bored  at  Bourne,  in  England.  The  borings  passed  through 
two  strata  of  limestone,  with  other  intervening  strata,  to  the  depth  of  only  92  feet.  The  bore 
is  only  four  inches,  and  this  supplies  the  town  through  mains  and  smaller  pipes  and  plugs 
for  fires,  the  pressure  being  sufficient  to  throw  water  over  the  buildings.  It  delivers  557,000 
gallons  per  day.  It  rises  at  the  town  hall  39  feet  9  inches. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  statistics  of  some  of  the  most  interesting  artesian  wells  both  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe  ;  they  give  some  details  of  the  cost,  mode  of  boring,  and  difficulties 
to  be  encountered,  that  will  be  interesting  and  useful  to  the  readers  of  this  report. 

The  conditions  necessary  to  the  successful  boring  of  an  artesian  well  are : 

First.  A  fountain  head  more  elevated  than  the  locality  where  the  boring  is  to  be  undertaken. 

Second.  A  gentle  inclination  or  moderate  dip  from  the  fountain  head  towards  the  locality 
of  the  well. 

Third.  Alternations  of  porous  and  impervious  strata,  beneath  the  drainage  of  the  country. 

The  fountain  head  need  not  be  in  the  immediate  vicinity ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  often  far 
distant — 40  to  100  miles  or  more.  If  it  forms  the  elevated  rirn  of  a  large  basin,  from  which 
the  strata  dip  in  all  directions  towards  its  centre,  it.  is  all  the  more  favorable  for  artesian 
borings  within  that  basin.  If  the  geological  formations  form  a  synclinal  fold  or  trough,  the 
fountain  head  being  on  the  anticlinals  of  the  ridges  more  or  less  parallel,  this  is  also  a  favora- 
ble position  for  artesian  borings. 

The  flow  of  water  from  the  fountain  head,  held  up  by  the  impervious  strata  beneath,  and 
permeating  the  porous  superincumbent  layers,  may  be  arrested,  however,  even  without  such 
a  structure  of  th,e  country,  by  being  dammed  up  by  local  barriers,  which  may  either  be  imper- 
vious fissures,  cutting  the  strata  more  or  less  at  right  angles,  or  extensive  faults  filled  up  with 
clay,  which  is  a  very  common  occurrence. 

A  steep  or  high  angle  of  inclination  of  dip  is  always  an  unfavorable  structure  of  country, 
because  in  such  situations  the  water  flows  away  beyond  the  reach  of  artesian  borings,  which 
must  necessarily  cut  the  strata  at  such  an  acute  angle  as  to  pass  through  only  a  few  layers 
of  rock.  Without  a  knowledge  of  the  internal  structure  of  the  geological  formations  which 
lie  deep-seated,  very  little  clue  can  be  obtained  to  the  selection  of  a  favorable  locality  by  a 
simple  inspection  of  the  physical  condition  of  the  surface  of  the  country.  For  instance,  a 
perfectly  level  plain,  with  no  hills  in  sight,  may  be  more  favorable  for  artesian  wells  than  an 
undulating  country,  simply  from  the  fact  of  its  having  a  higher  fountain  head. 

The  third  condition  mentioned  above,  namely,  alternation  of  porous  and  impervious  strata, 
is  almost  -every  where  to  be  met  with. 


EAST    OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  35 

SECTION    II. 

LIGNITES    OF    THE    WEST. 

[Abstract  from  report  of  F.  V.  Hoyden,  United  States  geologist  for  Nebraska,  to  Commissioner  of  General 
Land  Office,  from  Silliman's  Journal  of  March,  1868.] 

The  construction  of  the  Pacific  railroads  across  the  continent  is  bringing  about  the  dawn 
"of  a  new  era  in  the  progress  of  the  west.  Already  has  the  Union  Pacific  railroad,  from 
Omaha,  struck  the  first  range  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  more  than  525  miles  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri river.  The  earth  is  now  called  upon  more  earnestly  than  ever  before  to  yield  up  her 
treasures  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  and  mineral  fuel,  and  the  existence  of  the  last  two 
minerals  in  the  west,  in  workable  quantities,  is  one  of  the  most  important  practical  ques- 
tions of  the  day.  It  is  my  purpose  in  this  article  merely  to  state  briefly  some  observations 
made  last  autumn  in  regard  to  the  lignite  deposits  of  Colorado  and  Dakota  Territories.  The 
details  will  be  given  more  fully  in  the  final  report  of  the  geological  survey  of  Nebraska,  now 
in  progress  of  preparation. 

The  discovery  that  large  deposits  of  "stone  coal,"  as  it  is  often  called  by  travellers,  existed 
in  various  portions  of  the  west  is  by  no  means  a  new  one  at  the  present  time.  The  lignite 
beds  of  the  upper  Missouri  were  noticed  by  Lewis  and  Clark,  1803  and  1804,  those  of 
Laramie  plains  by  Fremont,  1842,  and  those  of  the  Raton  mountain  region  by  General 
Emory  as  far  back  as  1848.  But  the  intense  interest  with  which  they  are  regarded  now,  as 
a  source  of  fuel  to  the  vast  stretch  of  fertile  but  almost  treeless  plains,  has  been  created  anew 
by  the  advancing  westward  wave  brought  about  by  the  construction  of  those  great  national 
highways.  The  fact,  also,  that  the  coal  deposits  of  Iowa  and  Missouri  are  restricted  in  area, 
and  the  coal  limited  in  quantity,  and  in  most  cases  inferior  in  quality,  and  that  west  of 
these  States  it  may  be  said  that  there  is  no  true  coal  at  all,  renders  any  source  of  fuel  in 
the  far  west  a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance.  In  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  river  and  the 
Ye}lowstone  there  are  numerous  beds  of  tertiary  lignite,  varying  from  a  few  inches  to  seven 
feet  in  thickness.  These  formations  have  been  described  many  times,  and  until  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  is  carried  through  that  region  they  w/U  remain  of  little  practical  importance. 
But  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  is  now  in  progress  of  construction  through  the  lignite  deposits 
of  the  Laramie  plains,  and  the  Union  Pacific  railway,  eastern  division,  and  the  branch  from 
Denver  to  Cheyenne  City,  will  pass  through  those  of  Colorado,  so  that  if  the  lignite  beds 
and  iron  mines  of  this  region  are  of  such  a  character  as  to  be  of  economical  use,  the  time  for 
their  demand  has  already  come. 

My  examination  of  the  geology  of  the  State  of  Nebraska,  during  the  past  season,  failed  to 
develop  any  workable  beds  of  coal  within  the  limits  of  that  State.  My  attention  was  then 
directed  to  the  great  lignite  deposits  of  the  Laramie  plains.  1  found  the  lignite  of  excellent 
quality  in  beds  from  5  to  11  feet  thick,  and  I  estimated  the  area  occupied  by  this  basin  at 
5,000  square  miles.  Its  most  eastern  limit  is  about  10  miles  east  of  Rock  creek,  a  branch  of 
the  Medicine  Bow  river.  Outcroppings  have  been  seen  all  along  Rock  creek,  Medicine  Bow, 
on  Rattlesnake  Hills,  on  the  North  Platte,  Muddy  creek,  all  along  Bitter  creek,  Ham's  Fork, 
Echo  Canon,  and  all  along  Weber  river,  nearly  to  Great  Salt  lake,  showing  that  one  con- 
nected series  of  deposits  covers  this  whole  area.  The  lignite  taken  from  the  beds  on  Rock 
creek  is  from  the  outcroppings,  yet  it  burns  with  a  bright  red  flame,  giving  out  a  good  degree 
of  heat,  leaving  scarcely  any  ash,  and  is  quite  as  desirable  fuel  for  domestic  purposes  as  any 
wood.  It  is  non-bituminous,  exhibits  just  a  trace  of  sulphure.t  of  iron,  which,  decomposing, 
gives  a  rusty  reddish  appearance  to  the  outcrops,  and  there  are  seams  of  jet,  1  to  12 
inches  in  thickness,  which  looks  much  like  canncl  coal,  and  is  thus  termed  by  the  miners. 
The  Union  Pacific  railroad  will  pass  directly  through  these  great  coal  fields,  and  as  most  of 
the  freight  will  go  westward  for  many  years,  the  cars  on  their  return  can  be  loaded  with  this 
lignite,  thus  to  be  distributed  through  Nebraska  at  a  cost  much  less  than  that  of  wood  at  the 
present  time.  There  are  also  indications  of  an  abundance  of  iron  ore  in  the  vicinity  of  these 
deposits,  and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  contemplate  establishing  rolling  mills  in 
the  Laramie  plains  at  no  distant  period. 

The  next  point  visited  was  South  Boulder  creek,  the  Marshall  mines,  which  are  probably 
the  most  valuable  in  the  west.  I  made  a  pretty  careful  examination  of  these  mines,  as  they 
have  been  wrought  for  four  or  five  years.  An  average  of  50  tons  is  taken  from  this  place 
daily  and  sold  at  Denver,  at  prices  varying  from  $12  to  $15  pqr  ton.  The  beds  are  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains,  and  dip  to  such  an  extent  as  to  expose  the  whole  series,  11  in  number, 
varying  from  5  to  13  feet  in  thickness,  so  that  we  have  from  30  to  50  feet  at  least  of  solid 
lignite.  This  is  the  most  favorable  locality  for  studying  the  strata  enclosing  the  lignite  that 
I  have  ever  met  with  in  the  west,  and  this  is  due  to  several  causes,  the  principal  of  which  is 
their  proximity  to  the  base  of  the  mountains,  by  which  they  are  elevated  at  a  moderate  angle. 
The  following  somewhat  remarkable  section  is  approximately  correct,  at  least : 


36 


EESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 


45.  Sandstone,  gray  and  rather  coarse  grained. 

44.  Drab  clay. 

43.  Lignite. 

42.  Drab  clay. 

41.  Lignite. 

40.  Drab  clay. 

39.  Sandstone. 

38.  Drab  clay. 

37.  Lignite. 

36.  Drab  clay. 

35.  Sandstone. 

34.  Drab  clay,  10  to  12  feet. 

33.  Sandstone. 

32.  Drab  clay. 

31.  Lignite.  " 

30.  Drab  clay. 

29.  Sandstone. 

28.  Drab  clay  passing  up  into  sand  three  feet. 

27.  Lignite,  5  feet. 

26.  Drab  clay,  5  feet. 

25.  Sandstone,  14  feet. 

24.  Drab  clay,  3  feet. 

23.  Lignite,  7^  feet, 


22.  Drab  clay,  5  feet. 
21.  Sandstone,  20  feet 
20.  Drab  clay,  3  feet. 
19.  Lignite,  7  feet. 
18.  Drab  clay,  3  feet. 
17.  Sandstone,  40  feet 
16.  Drab  clay,  3  feet. 
15.  Lignite,  5  feet. 
14.  Drab  clay. 
13.  Sandstone. 
12.  Drab  clay. 
11.  Lignite. 
10.  Drab  clay. 

9.  Sandstone. 

8.  Drab  clay. 

7.  Lignite,  5  feet. 

6.  Drab  clay. 

5.  Gray  and  yellowish  gray  sandstone. 

4.  Drab  chiy,  3  feet. 

3.  Lignite,  11  to  13  feet. 

2.  Drab  clay,  4  feet. 

1.  Fine  yellowish  grit  indurated  cretaceous 
beds,  1,  2,  3,  4,  &c. 


The  thickness  of  the  beds  ts  given  when  it  could  be  obtained  with  any  degree  of  accuracy. 
It  is  barely  possible  that  beds  6  to  13  feet  inclusive  have  been  broken  down  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  upheaval  just  beyond  and  thus  displaced.  The  inclination  of  the  strata  from  1  to 
16  inclusive  is  8°  east,  and  the  cleavage  of  the  beds  of  lignite  is  vertical  and  exactly  parallel 
with  the  dip.  From  13  to  29,  inclination  is  40°,  and  the  remainder  35°.  Lignite  beds  33 
and  42  have  not  yet  been  tested,  and  very  little  is  known  of  them.  They  have  been  exposed 
in  the  search  for  iron  ore.  The  summit  of  the  hills  above  all  these  beds  in  the  section  is 
covered  with  a  large  thickness  of  superficial  drift  material,  which  undoubtedly  conceals 
many  other  beds  which  properly  belong  to  the  section.  Mines  have  been  opened  on  Coal 
creek,  three  miles  south  of  Marshall's  mines,  but  they  have  been  abandoned  for  the  present. 
Another  has  been  opened  about  20  miles  south  of  Cheyenne  City,  on  Pole  creek.  The  drift 
began  with  an  outcropping  of  about  four  feet  eight  inches  in  thickness,  inclination  12°  east. 
The  lignite  grows  better  in  quality  .as  it  is  wrought  further  into  the  earth,  and  the  bed,  by 
following  the  dip  200  feet,  is  found  to  be  five  feet  four  inches  thick,  and  the  lignite  is  sold 
readily  at  Cheyenne  City  for  $25  per  ton.  The  beds  are  so  concealed  by  a  superiicial  drift 
deposit  that  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  clearly  connected  section  of  the  rocks.  A  section  across 
the  inclined  edges  of  the  beds  eastward  from  the  mountains  is  as  follows: 

7.  Drab  clay  passing  up  into  areno-calcareous  grit  composed  of  an  aggregation  of  oyster 

shells,  ostreasitbtrigonalis. 

6.  Lignite,  5  to  6  feet. 

5.  Drab  clay,  4  to  6  feet. 

4.  Reddish  rusty  sandstone  in  thin  lamiuse,  20  feet. 

3.  Drab  arenaceous  clay,  indurated. 

2.  Massive  sandstone,  50  feet. 

1.  No.  5  cretaceous,  apparently  passing  up  into  a  yellowish  sandstone. 

The  summit  of  the  hills  near  this  bed  of  lignite  is  covered  with  loose  oyster  shells,  and 
there  must  have,  been  a  thickness  of  four  feet  or  more  almost  entirely  composed  of  them. 
The  species  seems  to  be  identical  with  the  one  found  in  a  similar  geological  position  in  the 
lower  lignite  beds  of  the  upper  Missouri,  near  Fort  Clark,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Judith 
river,  and  doubtless  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  brackish  waters  which  must  have  existed  about 
the  dawn  of  the  tertiary  period  in  the  west.  No  other  shells  were  found  in  connection  with 
these  in  Colorado,  but  on  the  upper  Missouri  well-known  fresh-water  types  exist  in  close 
proximity,  showing  that  if  it  proves  anything  it  rather  affirms  the  eocene  age  of  these  lower 
lignite  beds.  These  lignite  beds  are  exposed  in  many  localities  all  along  the  eastern  base  of 
the  mountains,  and  from  the  best  information  I  can  secure  I  have  estimated  the  area  occu- 
pied by  them  north  of  the  Arkansas  river  at  5,000  square  miles.  According  to  the  explora- 
tions of  Dr.  John  L.  Le  Conte  during  the  past  season,  which  are  of  great  interest,  these 
same  lignite  formations  extend  far  southward  into  New  Mexico,  on  both  sides  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  Specimens  of  lignite  brought  from  the  Raton  mountains  by  Dr.  Le  Conte  resem- 
ble very  closely  in  appearance  and  color  the  anthracites  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  probable 
that  no  tnie  coal  will  ever  be  found  west  of  longitude  96°,  and  it  becomes,  therefore,  a  most 
important  question  to  ascertain  the  real  value  of  these  vast  deposits  of  lignite  for  fuel  and 
other  economical  purposes.  Can  these  lignites  be  employed  for  generating  steam  and  smelt- 
ing ores  ?  In  regard  to  the  lignites  in  the  Laramie  plains  I  have  as  yet  seen  no  analysis, 
but  specimens  are  now  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Torrey,  of  New  York,  for  that  purpose.  Sped- 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  37 

mens  from  Marshall's  mine  on  South  Boulder  creek  were  submitted  to  Dr.  Torrey  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  for  examination,  with  the  following  result : 

Water  in  a  state  of  combination,  or  its  elements 12.00 

Volatile  matter  expelled  at  a  red  heat,  forming  inflammable  gases  and  vapors 26.  00 

Fixed  carbon 59.20 

Ash  of  a  reddish  color,  sometimes  gray 2.  80 

100.  00' 

A  specimen  from  Coal  creek,  three  miles  south,  yielded  similar  results : 

Water  in  a  state  of  combination,  or  probably  its  elements,  as  in  dry  wood 20.  00' 

Volatile  matter  expelled  at  a  red  heat,  in  the  form  of  inflammable  gases  and  vapors 19.  30 

Fixed  carbon 58.  70 

Ash,  consisting  chiefly  of  oxydof  iron,  alumina,  and  a  little  silica 2.00 

100.  00 


The  percentage  of  carbon  is  shown  to  be  in  one  case  59. 20,  and  in  the  other  58. 70,  which 
shows  at  a  glance  the  superiority  of  the  western  lignites  over  those  found  in  any  other  por- 
tion of  the  world.  Anthracite  is  regarded  as  so  much  superior  a  fuel  on  account  of  the  large 
per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  also  the  small  amount  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen.  The  bituminous 
coals  contain  a  large  percentage  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen,  but  not  enough  water  and  ash  to 
prevent  them  from  being  made  useful,  but  the  calorific  power  of  lignite  is  very  much  dimin- 
ished by  the  quantity  of  water  contained  in  it,  from  the  fact  that  so  valuable  a  portion  of  the 
fuel  must  be  used  in  .converting  that  water  into  steam. 

The  day  of  my  visit  to  the  Marshall  coal  mines,  on  South  Boulder  creek,  73  tons  of  lig- 
nite were  taken  out  and  sold  at  the  rate  of  $4  a  ton  at  the  mine,  and  from  $12  to  $16  at  Den- 
ver. This  lignite  is  somewhat  brittle,  but  has  nearly  the  hardness  of  ordinary  anthracite, 
which  it  very  much  resembles  at  a  distance. 

Jn  gome  portions  there  is  a  considerable  quantity  of  amber.  I  spent  two  evenings  at  Mr. 
Marshall's  house  burning  this  fuel  in  a  furnace,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  would  prove  to 
be  superior  to  ordinary  western  bituminous  coals  and  rank  next  to  anthracite  for  domestic 
purposes.  Being  non-bituminous,  it  will  require  a  draught  to  burn  well.  It  is  as  neat  as  anthra- 
cite, leaving  no  stain  on  the  fingers.  It  produces  no  offensive  gas  or  odor,  and  is  thus  supe- 
rior in  a  sanitary  point  of  view,  and  when  brought  into  general  use  it  will  be  a  great  favorite 
for  culinary  purposes.  It  contains  no  destructive  elements,  leaves  very  little  ash,  no  clink- 
ers, and  produces  no  more  erosive  effects  on  stoves,  grates,  or  steam  boilers  than  dry  wood. 
If  exposed  in  the  open  air  it  is  apt  to  crumble,  but  if  protected  it  receives  no  special  injury. 
Dr.  Torrey  thinks  there  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  eminently  useful  for  generating 
steam  and  for  smelting  ores. 

Throughout  the  intercalated  beds  of  clay  at  Boulder  creek  and  vicinity  are  found  masses 
of  a  kind  of  concretionary  iron  ore,  varying  in  size  from  one  ounce  to  several  tons  in  weight. 
This  iron  ore  is  probably  a  limonite,  commonly  known  under  the  name  of  brown  hematite  or 
brown  iron  ore.  It  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  state  of  carbonate  of  iron  when  sought 
for  beyond  the  reach  of  the  atmosphere.  These  nodules  or  concretionary  masses,  when 
broken,  show  regular  concentric  rings,  varying  in  color  from  yellow  to  brown,  looking  some- 
times like  rusty  yellow  agates.  It  is  said  to  yield  70  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  The  first 
smelting  furnace  ever  created  in  Colorado  was  established  here  by  Mr.  Marshall,  and  he 
informed  me  that  for  the  production  of  one  ton  of  pig  iron  tnree  tons  of  the  ore,  200  pounds 
of  limestone,  and  130  to  150  bushels  of  charcoal  are  required.  Over  500  tons  of  this  ore 
have  been  taken  from  this  locality,  and  the  area  over  which  it  seems  to  abound  cannot  be 
less  than  50  square  miles.  Indications  of  large  deposits  of  iron  ore  have  been  found  in 
many  other  localities  along  the  line  of  the  Pacific  railroads,  and  if  the  mineral  fuel  which  is 
found  here  in  such  great  abundance  can  be  made  useful  for  smelting  purposes,  these  lignites 
and  iron  ore  beds  will  exert  the  same  kind  of  influence  over  the  progress  of  the  great  west 
that  Pennsylvania  exerts  over  all  the  contiguous  States.  When  we  reflect  that  we  have  from 
10,000  to  20,000  square  miles  of  mineral  fuel  in  the  centre  of  a  region  where  for  a  radius  of 
600  to  1,000  miles  in  every  direction  there  is  little  or  no  fuel  either  on  or  beneath  the  surface, 
the  future  value  of  these  deposits  cannot  be  overestimated. 

The  geological  age  of  these  western  lignite  deposits  is  undoubtedly  tertiary.  Those  on 
the  upper  Missoiiri  have  been  shown  to  be  of  that  age,  both  from  vegetable  and  animal 
remains,  and  in  the  Laramie  plains  I  collected  two  species  of  plants,  a  popultts  and  a  plan- 
tanus,  specifically  identical  with  those  found  on  the  upper  Missouri.  The  simple  fact  that 
cretaceous  formations  Nos.  I,  2,  3,  4,  and  5  are  well  shown  all  along  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  that  No.  5  presents  its  usual  lithological  character,  with  its  peculiar  fossils,  within 
15  miles  of  Marshall's  mines ;  also  that  at  the  mine  2,  3,  and  4  are  seen  inclining  at  nearly 
the  same  angle  and  holding  a  lower  position  than  the  lignite  beds,  is  sufficieiit  evidence  that 
the  strata  enclosing  the  lignite  beds  are  newer  than  cretaceous.  A  few  obscure  dicotyledo- 
nous leaves  were  fouud,  which  belong  rather  to  tertiary  forms  than  cretaceous. 

The  connection  of  the  lignite  deposits  on  the  upper  Missouri  has  been  traced  uninterrupt- 
edly to  the  North  Platte,  about  80  miles  above  Fort  Laramie.  They  then  pass  beneath  the 
White  river  tertiary  beds,  but  reappear  again  about  20  miles  south  of  Pole  creek,  and  con- 


38  RESOURCES    OF    STATES   AND    TERRITORIES 

tinue  far  southward  into  New  Mexico.  Near  Red  Buttes,  on  the  North  Platte,  it  seems  also 
probable  that  the  same  basin  continues  northward  along  the  slope  of  the  Rocky  mountains, 
nearly  or  quite  to  the  Arctic  sea.  Whether  or  not  there  are  aay  indications  of  this  formation 
over  the  eastern  range  into  the  British  possessions  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining,  but  the 
Wind  River  chain,  which  forms  the  m?.in  divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  exhibits  a 
great  thickness  of  the  lignite  tertiary  beds  on  both  eastern  and  western  slopes,  showing  con- 
clusively by  the  fracture  and  inclination  of  the  strata  that  prior  to  the  elevation  of  this  range 
they  extended  uninterruptedly  in  a  horizontal  position  across  the  area  now  occupied  by  the 
WTind  River  chain.  Passing  the  first  range  of  mountains  in  the  Laramie  plains  we  find  that 
the  Big  Laramie  river  cuts  through  cretaceous  beds  Nos.  2  and  3 ;  continuing  our  course 
westward  to  Little  Laramie,  a  branch  of  the  Big  Laramie,  and  No.  3  becomes  50  to  150  feet 
in  thickness,  filled  with  fossils,  Ostrea  congtsta,  and  a  species  of  Inoceramus.  At  Rock  creek, 
about  40  miles  west  of  Big  Laramie  river,  the  lignite  beds  overlap  the  cretaceous,  but  in 
such  a  way  as  to  show  that  the  more  inclined  portions  have  been  swept  away  by  erosion,  and 
that  the  red  beds  and  carboniferous  limestones  once  existed  without  break  and  in  a  horizon- 
tal position  across  the  Laramie  range  prior  to  its  elevation. 

I  cannot  discuss  this  matter  in  detail  in  this  article,  but  the  evidence  is  clear  to  me  now 
that  all  the  lignite  tertiary  beds  of  the  west  are  but  fragments  of  one  great  basin,  interrupted 
here  and  there  by  the  upheaval  of  mountain  chains  or  concealed  by  the  deposition  of  newer 
formations.  All  the  evidence  that  I  can  secure  seems  to  indicate  that  there  are  no  valuable 
beds  of  lignite  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  formations  older  than  the  tertiary. 


SECTION    III. 

MINERAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE  TERRITORY  OF  MONTANA. 

[By  W.  S.  Keyes,  M.  E.] 

The  Territory  of  Montana  is,  saving  the  recently  acquired  Alaska,  the  newest  and  most 
remote  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  domain  of  the  United  States.  Its  form  is  very  nearly 
exactly  a  right-angled  parallelogram,  the  irregularity  of  the  figure  occurring  on  the  south- 
western border,  where  the  territorial  limits  are  coincident  with  the  main  chain  of  the  Coeur 
d'Alene  and  Bitter  Root  mountains.  Its  northern  boundary  is  latitude  49°,  being  the 
dividing  line  between  the  British  and  American  possessions.  Its  longitudinal  extension,  with 
Dakota  on  the  east  and  Idaho  on  the  west,  embraces  12  degrees,  viz:  from  27°  to  39°  west 
of  the  meridian  of  Washington,  while  its  southern  boundary  is  marked,  excepting  a  small 
portion  on  the  extreme  southwest,  by  the  45th  parallel  of  north  latitude. 

HISTORICAL. — Our  first  authentic  description  of  that  portion  of  the  continent,  of  which 
Montana  now  forms  a  part,  is  due  to  the  labors  of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke,  two  officers 
of  the  regular  United  States  army.  They  were  despatched,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  under  the  auspices  of  the  general  government,  to  explore  the  far  northwest,  which 
was  then,  and  has  remained  until  quite  recently,  almost  a  terra  incognita.  With  infinite 
patience  they  surmounted  all  the  natural  obstacles  in  their  pathway ;  climbed  the  snowy 
ranges ;  sought  out  the  passes"  in  the  mountains ;  descended  in  canoes  all  the  principal 
streams,  and  pursued  to  their  sources  by  far  the  greater  number  of  their  tributaries;  passed 
some  years  among  the  Indians  ;  gave  names  to  all  the  rivers,  by  far  the  larger  proportion 
of  which  are  still  retained ;  described  the  fauna  and  flora — in  a  word,  all  the  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  so  exhaustively  that  their  descriptions,  perfectly  accurate  more  than  60  years 
ago,  are  in  every  essential  particular  as  truthful  to-day. 

Again,  we  have  the  results  of  the  labors  of  Captain  Bonneville,  who  explored  these  regions 
some  30  years  subsequently  to  Lewis  and  Clarke.  The  graphic  pen  of  the  late  Washington 
Irving  compiled  from  these  observations  a  most  admirable  and  interesting  volume. 

More  recently  we  have  the  report  of  Governor  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  who,  in  the  years  1853, 
1854,  and  1855,  made  a  careful  survey  of  the  passes  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  with  a  view 
to  determine  the  practicability  of  a  northern  route  for  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific.  Lieutenant 
Mullan,  one  of  the  members  of  the  party,  established  a  wagon  route  from  Fort  Benton,  on 
the  Missouri  river,  to  Walla- Walla,  on  the  Columbia  river,  in  Washington  Territory.  The 
distance  between  these  points  does  not  exceed  650  miles,  and  with  this,  comparatively 
speaking,  trifling  land  portage  we  unite  by  navigable  streams  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  ocean 
and  those  of  the  Gulf  oi  Mexico. 

Up  to  May  26,  1864,  on  which  date  the  organic  act  creating  the  Territory  was  approved  by 
Congress,  Montana  was  embraced  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Idaho,  whose  laws  still  remained 
in  force  until  the  assembling  of  the  first  territorial  legislature  at  Bannock,  December  12,  of 
the  same  year.  During  the  interregnum  no  advantage  was  taken  or  sought  to  be  taken  of 
the  technical  irregularity  of  administering  in  Montana  the  laws  of  Idaho — a  fact  which  bears 
eloquent  testimony  to  the  integrity  and  high  character  of  the  first  settlers.  Subsequently, 
when,  the  fame  of  its  rich  placers  had  been  noised  abroad,  the  Territory  became  flooded  with 


EAST  OP  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


39 


an  immigration  of  ruffians,  notorious  desperadoes,  and  cutthroats,  the  refuse  of  the  Pacific 
States  and  Territories.  Encouraged  by  impunity,  their  leaders  sought  and  obtained  such 
positions  in  the  lower  executive  ranks  of  the  government  that  justice  against  any  member  .or 
members  of  the  band  having  its  ramifications  throughout  the  entire  mining  regions  was 
practically  impossible.  The  people  enduring  ' '  until  longer  endurance  ceased  to  be  a  virtue," 
were  impelled  to  the  formation  of  a  "vigilance  committee." 

This  organization,  which  still  exists,  finally  triumphed  over  the  lawless  desperadoes  who 
infested  the  country ;  hung  some  and  banished  others,  until  life  and  property  in  Montana 
were  as  safe  if  not  safer  than  in  the  more  settled  portions  of  the  United  States.  The  civil 
law  and  its  expositors  are  now  able,  unaided,  to  fulfil  to  the  utmost  the  behests  of  justice 
and  to  stifle  at  once,  if  not  entirely  prevent,  any  recurrence  of  such  outrages  as  led  to  the 
formation  of  a  committee  of  vigilance. 


word 

l$ct,  viz:   'lToi-abe  shock-up, 

broken  character  of  its  surface. 

AI:I;A. — According  to  J.  L.  Corbett,  chief  engineer,  the  area  of  the  Territory  is  146,689.35 
square  miles,  equal  to  93,881,184  acres.  Compared  with  the  older  and  settled  portions  of  the 
United  States,  Montana  is  nearly  as  large  as  the  State  of  California,  somewhat  more  than 
half  the  size  of  Texas,  nearly  three  times  that  of  New  York,  two  and  one-half  times  that  of 
the  six  New  England  States  combined,  four  times  that  of  Kentucky,  and  110  times  that  of 
Rhode  Island. 

The  proportion  susceptible  of  cultivation  in  the  several  counties  is,  according  to  the  same 
authority,  as  follows : 


Counties. 

Meadow. 

Arable. 

Terrace  land. 

Gallatin  

32  000 

195  040 

64  000 

21  000 

39  000 

44  000 

Deer  Lodge.  

23  000 

91  200 

28  000 

52,  000 

114,000 

35,  000 

Big  Horn  

96  800 

1  592  250 

152  800 

18  500 

34  500 

38  OCO 

Jefferson  

3l'200 

45  400 

25  SCO 

36  000 

Chouteau.  .........                     ..                             ... 

78  000 

372  400 

85  000 

377,800 

2,  521,  800 

446,  800 

Being  a  grand  total  of  3,346,400  acres,  which  gives  a  proportion  of  little  more  than  1  in  30. 
In  the  absence  of  the  official  returns  of  the  surveyor  general,  these  figures  must  be  taken 
only  as  reasonable  approximations. 

DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD. — None  of  the  earlier  exploring  parties  seem  to  have  observed  or 
even  predicted  the  probability  of  finding  the  precious  metals  in  any  of  the  far  northwestern 
Territories.  Professor  Dana,  it  is  true,  mentions  in  1842  the  occurrence  of  certain  gold- 
bearing  talcose  and  micaceous  shists  on  the  Umpqua  river,  in  southern  Oregon,  and  like- 
wise stated  that  similar  rocks  had  been  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Sacramento  river,  in  Cali- 
fornia. Saving  the  Indians,  the  inhabitants  of  these  regions  consisted  of  a  few  trappers  and 
a  small  number  of  Catholic  missionaries.  The  latter,  from  their  intelligence  and  cultivation, 
were  the  only  persons  likely  to  have  noticed  the  geological  significance  of  the  rocks,  drift, 
and  alluvium  ;  but  even  had  they  been  well  aware  of  the  existence  of  gold  and  silver— and 
this,  on  the  authority  of  Father  De  Smet,  was  indeed  the  case — it  is  highly  improbable  that 
they  would  have  laid  much  stress  on  the  advantages  to  accrue  from  their  development. 

These  self-denying  pioneers  of  civilization  have  ever  shown  themselves  to  be  the  only  body 
of  men  who,  within  the  domain  of  the  United  States,  have  been  able  to  tame  the  savages 
and  introduce  among  them  the  arts  of  peace.  Strictly  upright  in  their  commerce  with  the 
aborigines,  they  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  their  confidence,  and  while  the  houses  of  the 
settlers  are  set  in  flames,  and  themselves  and  their  families  fall  a  prey  to  the  tomahawk,  these 
missionary  establishments  always  remain  intact. 

To  Mr.  Grauville  Stuart,  an  old  resident  and  careful  observer,  we  are  indebted  for  the  fol- 
lowing facts  in  regard  to  the  early  history  of  gold-seeking  in  what  now  constitutes  Montana: 

It  seems  that  one  Francois  Finlay,.cominonly  known  as  "  Benctsee,"  a  half-breed,  from  the  Hed  River  of 
the  North,  in  British  territory,  hail  for  some  time  worked  in  the  placers  of  California.  Becoming  dissatis- 
fied with  that  country,  he  found  his  way  back  again  to  the  vicinity  of  his  former  home.  He  arrived  in  Mon- 
tana, and  was  the  first  person  to  discover  on  Gold  cjeek  a  few  particles  of  fine  float  gold.  This  creek  is 
situated  in  Deer  Lodge  county,  on  the  wes-tern  slope  of  the  Kocky  mountains,  and  is  one  of  the  minor  trib- 
utaries of  the  Hell  Gate  river,  whose  waters  flow  ultimately  into  the  Pacific  ocean.  Probably  from  a  lack 
of  provisions  he  did  little  more  than  superficially  prospect  the  locality.  He  performed,  however,  enough 
work  to  entitle  him  to  the  honor  of  discovery. 

Subsequently,  in  May.  1858,  James  and  Granvule  Stuart,  Thomas  Adams,  and  Hecse  Anderson  prospected 
on  Gold  creek,  finding  as  high  as  ten  cents  to  the  pan,  equalling  about  one-half  cent  to  the  pound  of  earth. 
This  party,  few  in  numbers  and  continually  annoyed  by  the  Blackfeet  Indians,  who  persistently  stole  their 


40  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

horses,  and  being,  moreover,  misapplied  with  the  necessary  tools  and  provisions,  likewise  abandoned,  for 
the  moment,  any  further  search. 

Two  years  later,  namely,  during  the  summer  of  I860,  one  Henrv  Thomas,  called  "Gold  Tom."  or  "Tom 
Gold  Digger,"  set  up  on  Gold  creek  three  small  sluice-boxes  which  he  had  himself  roughly  hewed  out  of 
green  timber.  With  these  rude  implements  he  succeeded,  unaided  and  alone,  in  collecting  from  $1  50  to 
$2  per  day.  His  was  the  first  actual  mining  in  that  part  of  Washington  Territory  now  Montana.  Becom- 
ing dissatisfied  with  the  reward  of  Ms  labors,  he  kept  industriously  prospecting  all  over  the  Territory,  and, 
strangely  enough,  his  favorite  camping  ground  was  near  the  location  of  the  present  city  of  Helena,  in' whose 
immediate  vicinity  were  found,  subsequently,  some  of  the  richest  placer  deposits  ever  worked. 

It  remained,  however,  for  others  than  "Gold  Tom"  to  unearth  the  precious  dust  whose  resting  place  had 
been  so  often  pressed  by  his  footstep.  Stuart  and  his  party  had  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Bridger.  on 
the  emigrant  road,  where  they  lived  as  traders,  until,  in  18'f>0,  they  concluded  to  return  and  thoroughly  inves- 
tigate the  affluents  to  the  valley  of  the  Deer  Lodge.  They  prospected  during  1861,  and  found  Several 
favorable  localities.  It  was  not,  ho\vcver,  until  18<>2,  and  after  they  had  received  from  Walla- Walla,  4-J.~> 
miles  distant,  both  tools  and  lumber,  that  the  first  string  of  ten  real  sluices  was  set  up  and  worked.  In  the 
mean  time  they  had  communicated  the  news  of  their  discovery  to  a  relative  at  Pike's  Peak,  as  Colorado  \vns 
then  called.  Hence  resulted  a  considerable  exodus  of  miners,  who  began  to  arrive  in  Deer  Lodge  about  June 
20,  1862.  The  new  comers  discovered  the  placers  at  Pike's  Peak  gulch.  Pioneer  gulch,  «fcc.  From  this  time 
forward  the  immigration  of  gold  seekers  rapidlv  increased  in  volume.  Many,  becoming  bewildered  among  the 
pathless  hills  while  searching  for  the  Deer  Loilge,  discovered  other  and  valuable  placers.  At  present  there 
remains  scarcely  a  mountain  gorge  or  sequestered  ravine  but  hag  been  prospected  more  or  less  thoroughly 
from  mouth  to  source. 

For  several  months  anterior  to  the  segregation  of  the  Territory  from  Idaho  the  people  gov- 
erned themselves.  Far  away  from  any  settled  habitations,  a  little  handful  of  hardy  mining 
adventurers,  they  still  found  time,  amid  the  excitements  of  gold-mining,  to  take  such  steps 
as  have  finally  secured  the  fullest  liberty  combined  with  an  entire  subservience  to  law.  They 
discovered  the  placers  at  Bannock,  began  the  development  of  Alder  gulch,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  Virginia  City,  now  the  capital  of  Montana,  months  before  the  arrival  of  any 
territorial  officials. 

POPULATION. — The  present  population  of  the  Territory  may  be  estimated  to  be  about  24,000 
souls.  This  total  has  been  arrived  at  from  the  reports  of  the  different  assistant  assessors  of 
internal  revenue,  who  have  received  instructions  to  make  an  informal  approximate  census. 
Mr.  N.  P.  Langford,  the  efficient  United  States  collector  and  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Montana, 
is  of  the  opinion  that  the  number  of  inhabitants  has  remained  very  nearly  constant  from  the 
fall  of  1864  up  to  and  includiug  the  present  year,  and  has  probably,  during  that  interval, 
never  fallen  below  21,000. 

We  may,  by  s'ill  another  method,  obtain  a  reasonable  approximation,  corroborative  of  the 
foregoing,  viz.,  by  an  examination  of  the  vote  cast  in  September  of  the  present  year.  Local 
causes  combined  with  political  excitement,  caused  the  casting  of  an  unexpectedly  large  and 
probably  full  vote.  The  eight  counties  into  which  the  Territory  was. originally  divided,  not 
including  Big  Horn,  polled  a  total  ef  very  nearly  12,000  votes.  lu  this  number  are  included 
the  votes  of  the  soldiers  performing  volunteer  service  against  the  Indians,  all  the  colored 
votes,  and  also  those  which  were  rejected  from  the  count  by  reason  of  informality.  Hence, 
multiplying  the  full  vote  by  two,  we  have  a  total  population  of  24,000,  corresponding  with 
that  reported  by  the  assistant  assessors.  In  support  of  this  multiple,  which  may  by  some  be 
deemed  unreasonably  small,  it  may  be  alleged  that  the  Territory  is  barely  four  years  old,  that 
the  first  settlers  were  of  that  migratory  class  who  have  neither  home  nor  family,  and  that 
women  and  children  are  but  just  beginning  to  form  an  appreciable  percentage  of  the  popu- 
lation. On  the  approach  of  winter,  many  whose  summer  exertions  have  returned  a  profit, 
and  who,  likewise,  are  unwilling  to  endure  the  comparative  stagnation  of  the  cold  season, 
emigrate  either  to  the  east  or  west.  Returning  spring,  however,  brings  back  as  many  if  not 
more  than  departed,  eager  to  begin  or  to  renew  the  toilsome  yet  fascinating  pursuit  of  the 
gold  hunter. 

PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY.— The  most  prominent  feature  of  the  physical  geography  of  the 
Territory,  particularly  in  the  western  or  ore-bearing  regions,  is  the  gentleness  of  the  acclivi- 
ties and  the  absence  of  sharply  projecting  volcanic  peaks.  To  the  traveller  passing  over  the 
summit  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  on  the  road  hither  from  Utah,  this  fact  is  vividly  impressed 
upon  his  attention,  as  forming  a  most  striking  contrast  to  the  enormous  outflow  of  basaltic 
lava  extending  from  Port  Neuf  canon,  in  Idaho,  more  than  200  miles,  quite  to  the  crests  of 
the  main  chain.  We  observe,  also,  even  on  the  highest  of  the  hills,  great  strata  of  washed 
and  rounded  boulders,  loosely  bound  together  by  a  granitic  detritus.  We  find,  further,  quite 
high  up  on  the  mountains,  lakes  of  greater  or  less  extent,  whose  formation  was  evidently 
owing  to  the  blocking  up  of  some  primeval  gorge  by  means  of  glacier-borne  boulders. 
Indeed,  in  one  of  the  valleys  tributary  to  the  Deer  Lodge  the  former  location  of  such  a  lake 
is  plainly  visible.  Here,  for  centuries  perhaps,  the  pent-up  waters,  swollen  by  the  annual 
melting  of  the  winter's  snows,  had,  year  by  year,  further  insinuated  themselves  into  the 
opposing  dike,  until,  with  a  mightier  effort,  they  swept  downwards  to  the  plain,  and  piled 
up  in  long  ridges  the  rocks  and  earthy  matters  in  their  pathway. 

As  might  be  anticipated,  these  hyperborean  regions  were  once  the  scene  of  long-continued 
and  wide-spread  glacial  action,  the  evidences  of  which  are  perfectly  palpable.  A  locality 
of  particular  interest  in  this  regard  is  the  canon  of  Rattlesnake  creek,  which  takes  its  rise 
in  the  Bald  mountain,  northwest  of  the  town  of  Argenta,  in  Beaver  Head  county.  Here 
there  are  exposed  upon  the  surface  great  slabs  of  quartzite,  polished  to  the  smoothness  of 
glass,  with  fine  parallel  striations  marking  the  course  of  the  glaciers.  At  a  point  about  half 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  4l 

a  mile  below  the  town  a  large  mass  of  this  rock  appears,  which  is  remarkable  for  its  brilliant, 
deep  mahogany  color  and  perfect  polish. 

The  lower  ranges  and  foot-hills  of  the  Rocky  mountains  are  made  up  almost  entirely  of 
rounded,  rolling  hills,  having  a  substratum  of  drift  and  covered  with  a  rich  alluvium.  They 
afford  conclusive  evidence  of  the  vast  and  continuous  wearing  effect,  not  only  of  the  prim- 
eval glaciers,  but  also  of  the  melting  snows  and  rains  which  for  centuries  on  centuries  have 
swept  downwards  from  the  main  range. 

Some  very  fine  examples  of  morains  are  to  be  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  Diamond  City,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Missouri.  Great  boulders  of  granite,  worn  and  rounded  by  the  attrition 
of  the  ice  field,  are  piled  up  at  a  considerable  distance  from  their  original  resting  place* 

Another  phenomenon  referable  to  masses  of  ice  is  to  be  observed  in  most  of  the  larger 
rivers  :  the  shallower  streams,  during  the  intense  cold  of  the  winter,  become  frozen  to  the 
very  bottom,  and  envelope  in  a  coating  of  ice  many  small  and  occasionally  very  large  frag- 
ments of  rock ;  the  great  increments,  caused  by  the  melting  of  the  snows  on  the  mountains, 
carry  down  numerous  blocks  of  ice  and  the  adhering  stones.  These  latter  are  ultimately 
deposited  in  the  river's  bed,  forming  rapids,  shoals,  &c.,  or  adding  to  those  already  formed, 
and  still  further  complicating  a  navigation  sufficiently  difficult  from  shiftings  of  the  line  of 
the  channel  and  from  snags  and  sawyers. 

The  low  lands  furnish  admirable  sites  for  farming  purposes,  while  the  high  plateaus  are 
covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grasses,  affording  an  almost  limitless  expanse  of  pas- 
turage. Until  within  a  very  recent  period,  and  before  the  hand  of  civilization  had  begun  to 
seize  the  country  for  its  own,  vast  herds  of  elk  and  buffalo  found  a  lavish  sustenance  on  the 
countless  hills  and  valleys,  untrod  by  other  than  Indians  and  a  few  of  the  hardy  race  of 
trappers. 

For  the  purpose  of  description  it  is  preferable  to  treat  separately  of  the  eastern  and  western 
portions  of  the  Territory.  The  former,  bordering  on  Dacota,  is  drained  by  the  Missouri  and 
Yellowstone  rivers  and  their  numerous  tributaries,  and  is,  excepting  the  bottom  lands 
through  which  the  streams  flow,  comparatively  unknown.  From  such  information,  however, 
as  is  available,  we  arc  justified  in  adopting  the  conclusion  that  it  is  composed  of  rolling  terrace 
and  elevated  table  lands.  The  west,  on  the  contrary,  is  mountainous. 

The  hill  country,  made  up  of  the  primitive  and  secondary  rocks,  is  the  habitus  of  the  ore- 
bearing  veins;  whereas  the  low  lands,  comprising,  geologically  speaking,  more  recent  sedi- 
mentary and  drift  formations,  are  prolific  of  useful  rather  than  precious  minerals.  Below 
Fort  Benton,  the  head  of  navigation,  on  the  Missouri  river,  and  likewise  on  the  Yellow- 
stone, after  it  leaves  the  mountains  we  find  these  water  deposits,  consisting  of  clays  and 
sandstones,  after  towering  far  above  the  river  banks. 

Both  valley  systems  and  their  subsidiary  gorges  are  due  to  the  eroding  action  of  the  streams 
draining  through  countless  ages  from  off  the  eastern  flanks  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  In  the 
eddies  and  lake-like  depressions  of  these  vast  sedimentary  plains  the  primeval  forests,  washed 
from  their  mountain  fastnesses,  have  piled  trunk  on  trunk  to  the  formation  of  very  extensive 
coal  beds,  again  to  be  covered  up  by  subsequent  deposits  of  clays  and  sandstones.  In  many 
places  along  the  river  banks  of  both  these  streams  great  beds  of  coal  and  layers  of  sand 
stone,  in  color  a  dirty  gray  or  yellow,  are  now  plainly  visible,  still  occupying  the  same  hori 
zontal  positions  in  which  they  were  originally  deposited. 

The  mountains  of  the  Territory  are,  as  before  stated,  predominant  in  the  west.  They 
comprise  the  Rocky  mountain  chain  and  its  subordinate  ranges,  the  Coeur  d'Alene  and 
Bitter  Root  menntains,  &c.,  &c.,  forming  a  portion  of  the  backbone  of  the  continent,  and 
covering  a  tract  of  country  from  300  to  400  miles  wide.  Within  these  limits  are  many  spurs 
surpassing  in  altitude  the  peaks  of  the  main  range.  They  give  rise  to  numberless  valleys, 
generally  connected  together  by  low  passes.  Below  Fort  Benton,  and  in  the  upper  central 
portion  of  the  Territory,  between  the  Missouri  and  Milk  rivers,  we  find  two  considerable 
upheavals,  viz :  the  Bear's  Paw,  running  nearly  north  and  south,  and  the  Little  Rocky 
mountains,  having  an  east  and  west  trend.  Again,  nearly  in  the  geographical  centre,  we 
find  the  Belt  and  Judith  mountains,  and  in  the  south  centre  the  Big  Horn  mountains,  which 
pass  out  of  the  Territory  southwardly  into  Dakota. 

Montana  is  a  country  pre-eminently  well  watered.  It  embraces  within  its  confines  for  a 
distance  of  300  miles  the  entire  eastern  and  part  of  the  western  water-shed  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  Draining  the  former,  we  have  the  great  rivers  Missouri  and  Yellowstone. 
Tributary  to  and  forming:  the  first  named,  we  find  the  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Gallatin, 
whose  waters,  drawn  from  the  far  western  snowy  peaks,  unite  almost  simultaneously  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Gallatin  City.  Thence  flowing  unitedly  in  a  northeast  course  they  debouch 
into  the  foot-hills  through  a  precipitous  gorge,  denominated  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  "  the  gate 
of  the  mountains."  Below  Fort  Benton  the  Marias,  Judith,  Muscleshell,  and  Milk  rivers, 
draining  the  northern  and  central  regions,  unite  with  the  Missouri.  The  Yellowstone,  which 
with  its  affluents,  Clark's  Fork,  Pryor's  Fork,  Big  Horn,  Tongue,  and  Powder  rivers,  drains 
the  southern  and  southeastern  portions,  flows  east  and  northeast,  until,  near  the  territorial 
limits,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Union,  it  unites  to  swell  the  volume  of  waters  borne  by  the 
Missouri  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

West  of  the  main  ridge  the  Hell  Gate,  Missoula,  and  Big  Blackfoot  rivers,  flowing  nearly 
north-northwest,  unite  to  form  the  Bitter  Root,  which,  joining  with  the  Flat  Head  further 


42  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

north,  forms  the  Lewis  Fork  of  the  Columbia  river,  whose  waters  find  their  way  to  the  Pacific 
ocean. 

There  is  but  one  considerable  body  of  fresh  water  within  the  territorial  limits,  viz :  the 
Flat  Head  lake,  situated  in  the  northwestern  corner,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  mountains, 
and  forming  the  chief  source  of  the  Flat  Head  river  above  mentioned.  Lying  like  great 
troughs  between  the  moutain  ridges,  and  drained  by  the  principal  rivers  and  their  countless 
minor  tributaries,  we  find  five  grand  basins,  and  numberless  subsidiary  valleys  ;  four  to  the 
east,  and  one  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

The  query  may  seem  pertinent  as  to  the  motive  for  including  in  Montana  rather  than  in 
Idaho  the  strip  of  territory  west  of  the  main  chain.  In  answer  it  may  be  stated  that  the 
passes  from  east  to  west  over  or  through  the  main  ridge  are  more  numerous,  and  in  general 
lower  and  less  liable  to  be  blocked  up  by  snow  than  those  of  the  Bitter  Root  and  Coeur  d' Alene 
ranges.  Hence  for  all  practical  purposes  this  magnificent  valley  system  belongs  to  Montana 
on  the  east. 

This  western  basin,  with  a  general  course  of  north  40°  west,  conformably  to  the  trend  of 
the  main  range,  is  made  up  of  eight  well-defined  valleys.  These  are  separated  from  one 
another  by  projecting  spurs,  over  whose  foot-hills  there  is  an  easy  communication  at  till 
seasons  of  the  year.  Through  each  and  all  of  them  there  flow  streams  prolific  of  trout.  Near 
the  sources  of  these  brooks  and  rivers,  and  in  general  over  the  entire  western  slope,  we  find  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  pine,  fir,  spruce,  and  cedar,  affording  a  marked  contrast  to  the  compara- 
tively sparcely  timbered  east. 

The  theory  which  seems  most  plausible  to  account  for  this  difference,  which  is  palpable 
to  the  most  unobservant  when  passing  over  the  summit  towards  the  west  is,  that  the  winds 
from  the  far  southwest,  warmed  by  a  more  genial  sun,  and  absorbing  the  moisture  evaporated 
over  the  immense  expanse  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  pour  down,  to  nourish  the  trees  and  grasses, 
copious  showers  of  rain,  which  are  set  free  by  a  contact,  with  the  colder  strata  about  the 
summits  of  the  mountains.  The  same  winds  depositing  there  the  greater  proportion  of  their 
moisture  in  the  form  of  snow,  have  naturally  a  smaller  amount  of  rain  for  the  foot-hills  and 
plains  of  the  easiern  slopes.  The  melting,  however,  of  the  heavy  snow-fall  carries  down  a 
rich  granitic  detritus,  and  supplies  an  enormous  yet  varying  increment  to  the  numerous 
tributaries  to  the  Missouri. 

Eastward  of  the  main  ridge,  and  stretching  along  the  northern  confines  through  10°,  quite 
to  the  territorial  limits,  and  unbroken  by  any  considerable  superficial  inequalities,  except 
the  Bear's  Paw  and  Little  Rocky  mountains,  we  find  the  long  valley  drained  by  the  Marias 
and  Milk  rivers.  The  upper  edge  of  this  basin  is  embraced  within  the  British  possessions. 
The  major  portion  consists  of  high  plateaus,  rolling  prairie  and  barren  clay  table  lands, 
denominated  by  the  trappers  and  French  "voyageurs"  "Les  Manvaises  Torres,"  or  Bad 
Lands.  These  formations,  barren  and  desolate,  consist  of  terrace  piled  on  terrace,  marking 
the  limits  of  the  great  sedimentary  waves  which  have  poured  downwards  from  the  mountains. 
Where  such  occur  we  find  little  or  no  timber,  excepting  along  the  river  bottoms,  which  are 
scantily  supplied  with  a  meagre  growth  of  cottonwood  trees.  The  rivers  have  worn  their 
pathway  through  these  deposits,  and  the  traveller  first  becomes  aware  of  their  existence  when, 
standing  upon  the  edge  of  some  precipitous  chasm,  he  observes  the  running  waters  hundreds 
of  feet  below  him.  Only  along  tne  immediate  foot-hills  are  to  be  found  sufficient  timber  and 
alluvium  to  invite  settlement  and  cultivation. 

Nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  Territory,  and  almost  encircled  by  the  Bear's  Paw  and  Little 
Rocky  mountains  on  the  north  and  the  Belt  and  Judith  mountains  on  the  south,  we  find  a 
considerable  basin  drained  by  the  Missouri  and  its  tributaries,  the  Arrow,  Judith,  and  Muscle- 
shell  rivers,  all  of  which  flow  from  south  to  north.  A  large  proportion  of  this  region  may 
properly  be  embraced  in  the  designation  "bad  lands."  They  find  their  most  prominent 
exemplification  from  the  mouth  of  the  Judith  river  nearly  as  far  as  Fort  Benton.  Interspersed 
among  these  barren  clay  terraces  we  find  most  curious  sandstone  formations  eroded,  by  the 
action  of  the  elements,  into  strange  and  fantastic  resemblances  to  time-worn  battlements  and 
hoary  ruins.  This  basin  is  fairly  watered,  and  although  it  contains  a  large  proportion  of 
worthless  land,  is  not  so  uniformly  uninviting  as  the  preceding  section. 

To  the  east  and  southeast,  and  forming  very  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  Territory,  we  have 
the  very  extensive  Big  Horn  valley,  drained  by  the  Yellowstone  and  its  numerous  tributaries. 
Less  is  positively  known  of  this  region  than  of  any  other  portion  of  Montana.  Hunters  and 
trappers  report  the  existence  of  wonderful  falls  and  rapids  on  the  upper  portions  of  the  main 
stream,  and  beautiful  lakes  near  its  source.  We  have,  further,  the  descriptions  of  Lewis  and 
Clark,  who  for  15  days,  some  GO  years  ago,  floated  down  its  current,  and  also  of  a  few  ven- 
turesome voyagers  of  more  recent  periods.  None,  however,  treat  specially  of  other  than  the 
terrain  bordering  the  river.  The  prevailing  formation  is  evidently  sedimentary  drift,  through 
which  the  rivers  have  cut  their  pathway.  It  is  a  country  as  yet  sacred  to  the  buffalo,  and  is 
pre-eminently  difficult  to  explore  owing  to  the  determined  hostility  of  the  savages. 

There  is  remaining  the  fan-like  valley  system  above  the  "  Gate  of  the  Mountains,"  drained 
by  the  Upper  Missouri  and  its  three  forks,  the  Jefferson,  Gallatin,  and  Madison.  This  region, 
comprising  a  section  of  country  less  than  150  miles  square,  in  area  about  twice  the  size  of 
the  State  of  Maryland,  is  emphatically  Montana.  Quite  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains,  well 
watered  and  interspersed  with  fertile  valleys  and  rolling  grass-covered  hills,  it  contains  the 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  43 

chief  centres  of  population,  the  most  prolific  placers,  and  a  wide  expanse  of  as  yet  but  par- 
tially developed  quartz  leads.  Here  we  find  the  streams  draining  to  the  east  and  northeast 
from  off  the  eastern  water-shed  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  bottom  lands  produce  abun- 
dantly the  hardier  cereals  and  vegetables,  while  the  hills  furnish  a  limitless  pasturage.  On 
the  mountains  and  high  lands,  where  the  vein  mines  are  to  be  sought,  the  winters  are  long 
and  of  great  seventy.  In  many  of  the  valleys,  on  the  contrary,  the  snow  falls  so  seldom 
and  to  such  an  insignificant  depth  that  horses  and  cattle  are  able  to  subsist  during  the  cold 
season  without  shelter  and  without  care.  The  climate  is  particularly  healthful,  and  the  rare 
pure  air  of  these  elevated  regions — the  lowest  being  some  thousands  of  feet  above  the  sea 
level — conduces  to  both  bodily  and  mental  vigor. 

GEOLOGY. — It  is  impossible  at  present  to  more  than  generally  outline  the  main  geological 
features  of  Montana.  The  want  of  a  thorough  scientific  investigation  of  its  mineral  resources 
is  just  beginning  to  be  felt,  and  as  a  knowledge  of  mines  and  mining  becomes  wider  spread 
among  the  community,  there  will  be  a  more  persistent  call  for  such  surveys,  and  a  better 
appreciation  of  the  significance  of  the  primary  and  secondary  rocks  as  distinguished  from 
drift  and  sedimentary  deposits. 

As  already  intimated,  the  formations  of  the  Territory  are  marked  by  distinctive  features  in 
the  east  and  west.  We  may  dismiss  a  consideration  of  the  former  as  connected  with  useful 
deposits  other  than  carboniferous.  The  bad  lands  of  these  districts  are  prolific  of  fossils, 
petrifactions,  &c.,  and  afford  an  exhaustless  and,  as  yet,  unworked  field  of  investigation  for 
pure  science.  Drift  and  alluvium,  spread  over  a  wide  expanse  of  low,  rolling  hills,  terraces, 
and  prairie,  unbroken  by  other  than  occasional  outcrops  of  sandstone,  make  up  th6  majority 
of  the  east.  The  west,  on  the  contrary,  prolific  of  veins  and  placers,  consists  in  the  main  of 
granite.  The  waters  and  glaciers  have,  likewise,  given  rise  to  very  extensive  gravel  deposits 
merging  into  conglomerates  of  greater  or  less  compactness.  In  the  superficial  inequalities 
of  the  mountains  we  find  clay  schists  evidently  of  comparatively  recent  formation.  Gneiss, 
micashist,  quartzite,  pitchstoue,  and  graywacke,  likewise  occur  as  subordinate  local  peculiari- 
ties. Talcose  and  reddish  silicious  slates,  slightly  charged  with  copper,  and  syenitic  granite 
bearing  gold  are  to  be  found  in  the  mining  regions.  But  most  prominently  as  an  ore-bearer, 
being,  with  granite,  almost  universal,  we  find  large  masses  of  blue,  yellow,  and  occasionally 
whitish  metamorphic  limestone  of  a  distinctly  chrystalline  structure  and  highly  magnesian. 
This  rock  occurs  apparently  as  an  intercalation  between  dikes  of  quartzite  and  the  grand 
granitic  substratum  of  the  country.  It  forms  a  species  of  mineral  belt,  disconnected,  how- 
ever, and  generally  in  each  district  of  limited  extent. 

Montana  is  rich  in  fossils,  and  hence  the  geologic  age  of  the  various  formations  admit  of 
a  reasonably  easy  determination.  Aside  from  the  above-mentioned  prolific  bad  lands,  there 
occurs  near  the  summit  of  the  range  back  of  Virginia  City  a  very  heavy  deposit  of  fossil 
shells.  Individual  specimens  from  this  source  are  to  be.  met  with  both  on  the  surface  and  in 
the  placer  washings  lower  down  the  mountain,  at  that  point  where  Alder  gulch  begins. 
Professor  Swallow,  State  geologist  of  Missouri  and  Kansas,  discovered  a  locality  of  fossils 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  copper  mines  at  the  head  of  the  Muscleshell  river,  which  is  so  denomi- 
nated from  the  great  abundance  of  fresh  water  muscle  shells  found  on  its  banks.  I  myself 
collected  quite  a  number  of  fossils  from  the  clay  schists  of  Birch  and  Grasshopper  creeks,  in 
Beaver  Head  county,  which,  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Blatchley,  have  been  handed  for 
determination  to  Professor  Whitney,  State  geologist  of  California.  The  finest  specimen  was 
presented  to  me  by  a  Mr.  Taylor,  residing  near  Bannock.  It  consisted  of  the  lower  jaw, 
incisors,  and  molars  of  some  medium-sized  graminivorous  animal,  and  was  in  a  particularly 
fine  state  of  preservation.  The  fossil  bore  some  resemblance  to  the  teeth  of  a  mountain 
sheep,  an  animal  which,  through  uninterrupted  pursuit,  is  fast  becoming  extinct.  The  fossils 
from  Birch  creek  consisted  entirely  of  the  remains  of  shell  fish.  There  was  reported,  in  1865, 
the  discovery  of  the  head  bones  and  the  skeleton  of  a  buffalo,  almost  entire.  They  were 
found  in  Grizzly  gulch,  near  Helena,  lying  immediately  upon  the  bed  rock,  and  covered  up 
to  a  depth  of  40  to  45  feet  with  wash  gravel  and  alluvium.  In  the  same  year  also  there  was 
discovered,  on  Meagher  bar,  opposite  the  town  of  Nevada,  in  Alder  gulch,  the  lower  jaw- 
bone of  a  member  of  the  human  family,  measuring  five  inches  from  point  to  point  of  the 
condyles.  An  inferior  maxillary  of  these  dimensions  would  indicate  some  giant  individual 
of  an  extinct  species  from  10J-  to  12  feet  in  height.  At  the  same  time  and  place  there  was 
found  an  enormous  fossil  tooth,  six  inches  long,  four  inches  wide,  and  between  eight  and  nine 
inches  from  the  crown  through  to  the  lower  portions  of  the  root.  Mr.  T.  H.  Kleinschmidt,  of 
Helena,  has  in  his  possession  two  enormous  fossil  teeth,  exhumed,  some  two  years  since, 
from  the  wash  gravel  of  Grizzly  gulch. 

The  discovery  of  these  fossils  in  the  gold-bearing  drift  of  Montana  adds  another  link  to 
the  chain  of  evidence  confirmatory  of  the  truth  of  the  statements  of  Professor  Whitney, 
State  geologist  of  California,  as  to  the  age  of  the  placers.  They  show  conclusively  that 
their  formation  here  in  Montana  was  either  coincident  with,  or  but  little  subsequent  to,  the 
advent  of  the  mammalia,  and  that  some  of  them  may  have  been  deposited  even  as  late  as  the 
age  of  man.  These  exuviae  of  extinct  species  of  animals  are  preserved  with  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty, not  only  on  account  of  their  facility  of  crumbling  on  exposure  to  the  air,  but  also  from 
the  apathy  of  the  finders,  who -regard  them  curiously  for  the  moment  and  then  cast  them 
aside  into  the  neglected  corners  of  their  cabins. 


44  RESOURCES    OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 

MINING  REGIONS. — Under  this  designation  we  embrace  all  placer  deposits,  both  the  super- 
ficial detrital  formations  and  the  deep-lying  conglomerate-like  cement  diggings,  as  well  as 
the  infiltrated  system  of  quartz  veins.  In  general  terms,  we  may  designate  both  slopes  of 
the  Rocky  mountains  as  pertaining  to  the  mining  regions. 

The  crests  of  the  main  chain,  from  the  point  of  entering  the  Territory  until  reaching 
Mullan's  Pass,  in  about  latitude  4b'^°  and  longitude  35°  west  of  Washington,  maintain  a 
course  very  nearly  north  40°  west.  From  this  locality  they  make  a  sharp  turn  to  the  south- 
west, and  run  on  thus  until  they  pass  into  Idaho.  Within  this  limit  the  ridge  is  cut  through 
in  but  one  place  by  the  far  western  affluents  of  the  Big  Hole  branch  of  the  Jefferson  river. 

We  find  on  the  eastern  slope  two  belts  of  ore-bearing  country  resembling  an  inverted  V, 
the  apex  of  which  is  towards  the  north.  The  left  hand  belt  starts  from  Horse  prairie  below 
Bannock  City,  in  the  southwest ;  thence  passes  through  Blue  Wing,  Argenta,  and  an  east- 
ern system  parallel  to  the  Silver  Bow  and  Butte  City  districts  on  the  west,  and  continues 
onward  through  Beavertown,  Jefferson  City,  Helena,  and  Silver  City,  northwards.  The 
second  belt  commences  high  up  in  the  mountains  south  of  Virginia  City;  passes  thence 
northerly  through  Ramshorn,  Brandon,  &c.,  then  disappears  or  gives  but  faint  traces  of  its 
presence  in  the  alluvial  valley  through  which  passes  the  river  Jefferson,  and  shows  itself 
again  near  Beavertown,  from  whence  the  two  eastern  belts  pass  northwardly  as  one. 

West  of  the  crests  of  the  main  range  we  find  not  only  less  developed  but  also  less  con- 
tinuous zones  of  impregnation.  That  the  points  of  enrichment  appear  to  be  more  isolated  is 
owing,  doubtless,  to  a  less  thorough  prospecting.  Further  south,  and  drained  by  the  west- 
ernmost affluent  of  the  Big  Hole — emptying  its  waters,  it  is  true,  to  the  east,  but  from  its 
position  preferably  credited  to  the  west — we  find  the  rich  but  shallow  diggings  centring 
about  French  gulch,  a  locality  long  since  worked  over  and  abandoned. 

Advancing  northwardly  we  have  a  mineral  belt  just  west  of  the  crests  of  the  main  chain, 
at  the  head  of  the  Blackfoot  river,  running  nearly  northwest  and  southeast,  conformably  to 
the  trend  of  the  mountains  and  corresponding  to  a  western  prolongation  of  the  mineral  belt 
of  Silver  Bow  and  Butte  City. 

We  find  still  another  belt  southward  of,  and  having  a  marked  parallelism  with,  the  general 
course  of  the  Hell  Gate  river,  bearing  about  west-northwest  and  east-southeast.  This  belt 
embraces  Gold  creek,  the  point  where  gold  was  first  discovered,  and  likewise  its  continua- 
tion on  the  head-waters  of  Flint  creek/  where,  lately,  there  was  reported  the  discovery  of 
valuable  gold-bearing  quartz  lodes.  Hence,  pursuing  the  same  direction,  we  still  find 
evidences  of  gold  deposits  on  most  of  the  affluents  emptying  into  the  Hell  Gate  further 
west. 

The  most  recent  attraction  for  the  migratory,  restless  race  of  miners,  is  a  point  on  the 
western  .slope  of  the  mountains  far  towards  the  northwest,  and  only  a  few  miles  distant  from 
the  line  of  the  British  possessions.  The  particular  locality  is  said  to  be  between  the  Jocko 
mission  and  Thompson's  river,  where  there  are  believed  to  be  both  rich  and  extensive  depos- 
its forming  those  species  of  placer  mines  known  as  gulch  and  bar  diggings.  Many  people 
have  flocked  thither,  both  from  Montana  and  from  the  neighboring  Territories.  So  great, 
indeed,  has  been  the  exodus  from  certain  localities  that  many  mining  camps  are  entirely 
deserted.  Whether  the  reported  richness  will  be  borne  out  by  a  closer  examination  remains 
to  be  proven.  Such  migrations  are  of  too  common  occurrence  in  the  history  of  placer  min- 
ing to  merit  more  than  passing  mention,  except  for  the  purpose  of  exemplifying  a  peculiar 
phase  of  life  in  the  mountains.  Washings  yielding  fair  average  returns  are  abandoned  on 
the  instant  so  soon  as  the  whispered  rumor  spreads  abroad  that  fabulous  richness  lies  hidden 
on  the  bed  rock  of  some  far-off  ravine.  The  tireless  prospector  dares  wind  and  snow  in  the 
depth  of  winter  to  hunt  up  new  placers,  and  seems  to  prefer  such  as  are  most  inaccessible 
and  most  dangerous  to  explore  on  account  of  hostile  Indians.  On  the  approach  of  winter 
these  "  stampedes,"  as  they  are  called,  occur  most  frequently.  The  summer  has  yielded  its 
harvests,  favorable  to  some,  but  unfavorable  to  many,  and  winter  begins  to  lock  up  for  a  six 
months'  rest  the  watercourses  which  are  indispensable  to  placer  mining.  Hence,  the  prospector, 
unable  longer  to  continue  his  washings,  starts  forth  to  renew  the  chase  of  fortune,  laden 
only  with  pick,  pan,  and  shovel,  and  an  amount  of  provisions  measured  by  the  length  of  his 
purse  or  the  soundness  of  his  credit.  Sometimes  in  company,  but  more  frequently  solitary 
and  alone,  they  carefully  investigate  such  ravines,  gulleys,  &c.,  as  experience  or  fancy  may 
dictate.  Buoyed  up  by  the  hope  of  ultimately  "striking  it  rich,"  they  endure  every  spe- 
cies of  hardship  and  privation  and  not  unfrequently  are  frozen  to  death.  Amputations  of 
frost-bitten  hands  and  feet  are  of  quite  common  occurrence. 

This  nomadic  instinct,  combined  with  practiced  observation,  alacrity  in  every  emergency, 
and  self-reliant  bravery,  has  moulded  a  race  of  hardy  pioneers,  fit  instruments  to  subdue  the 
wilderness  and  the  mountain-fastnesses.  To  such  men  are  due  the  discovery  of  new  mining 
regions  in  localities  where  no  inducement  other  than  the  yellow  dust  will  draw  the  white 
man.  They  pave  the  way  for  oncoming  civilization,  and  leave  to  others  the  fairest  fruits  of 
their  toils  and  privations.  As  soon  as  their  old  camping  grounds  become  comparatively  set- 
tled and  self-sustaining,  these  children  of  the  frontier  seek  other  ranges  and  wilder  solitudes. 
Every  fall  and  winter  are  marked  by  countless  minor  excitements  and  one  or  more  gigantic 
stampedes,  depopulating  entire  districts. 

Up  to  the  summer  and  fall  of  1865  these  migratory  movements  were  iu  the  main  confined 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  45 

to  a  comparatively  circumscribed  area,  comprising  what  now  constitutes  the  settled  portion 
of  the  Territory, 

The  superficial  placers  having-  at  this  time  begun  to  show  symptoms  of  exhaustion,  natu- 
rally gave  rise  to  investigations  of  more  distant  localities.  In  January,  1866,  a  rush  took 
place  to  the  mouth  of  Sun  river  towards  a  point  some  60  miles  from  Fort  Benton.  As  a 
result  no  diggings  of  any  value  were  discovered  and  a  large  number  of  the  deluded  enthusi- 
asts were  frozen  to  death.  In  July,  of  the  same  year,  the  placers  of  Little  Blackfoot, 
Nevada  gulch,  and  the  Hell  Gate  country,  all  on  the  western  slopes,  attracted  considerable 
attention,  and  remain  until  the  present  time  a  region  of  undiminished  interest.  In  the  fol- 
lowing month  of  August  there  sprang  up  an  intense  excitement  caused  by  the  report  of  fab- 
ulously rich  placers  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Lemhi,  in  the  Salmon  river  country  of 
Idaho.  In  the  same  month  a  large  number  made  their  way  to  the  Wind  River  mountains  of 
Dakota,  west  and  southwest  of  the  extreme  southern  sources  of  the  Yellowstone.  Neither  of 
these  excitements  appears  to  have  justified  expectation.  That  to  Salmon  river  continued 
through  the  winters  of  186b'-'67.  Thousands  were  drawn  thither,  and  others  kept  pouring 
in  until  the  disappearance  of  the  snow  late  in  the  spring  so  far  exposed  the  ground  as 
emphatically  to  disprove  the  illusion.  Men  remained  for  many  months  exposed  to  the  cruel- 
ties of  a  very  severe  winter,  built  up  a  large  town,  held  unprospected  claims  at  enormous 
figures,  and  at  length  abandoned  the  country  in  disgust,  condemning  as  fiercely  as  they  had 
previously  unreasonably  lauded  it.  In  October  also  of  1866,  a  stampede  of  some  magni- 
tude was  directed  to  the  Saskatchawan  country,  650  miles  north  of  Helena  and  in  the  British 
possessions.  No  diggings  of  importance  rewarded  the  prospectors. 

No  permanent  prosperity  and  no  fixed  centres  of  population  are  possible  until  such  time  as 
the  superficial  placers  have  ceased  to  yield  a  prolific  booty  of  easy  extraction.  _  The  long 
rows  of  deserted  habitations,  once  teeming  with  the  busy  life  of  a  flourishing  mining  town, 
bear  melancholy  testimony  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  placers  alone  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
permanent  towns  and  cities.  The  real  prosperity  of  a  mining  country  may  be  dated  from 
the  time  when  the  majority  of  the  gulches,  bars,  &c.,  are  worked  out,  since,  at  such  time, 
the  people  are  compelled  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  quartz  veins,  which  alone  promise  per- 
manency and  a  lasting  source  of  revenue  to  well-directed  enterprise.  That  many  adventures 
terminate  unfortunately ;  that  vast  sums  are  wasted  through  folly  and  ignorance,  so  culpa- 
ble as  almost  to  deserve  to  be  branded  as  criminal,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at.  The  art  of 
mining  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  metallurgy,  as  applied  to  the  North  American 
mineral  regions,  are  of  too  recent  formation  to  be,  even  in  their  general  outlines,  at  all  widely 
spread  amongst  the  people.  Hence,  dazzled  by  a  pursuit  having  as  its  immediate  object  the 
representatives  of  value  in  all  civilized  nations,  viz.,  gold  and  silver,  the  majority  of  men 
lose  sight  of  those  primal  economical  considerations  which  no  individual  of  practical  busi- 
ness sense  ever  neglects  or  overlooks.  They  begin,  not  by  counting  the  cost,  but  by  rearing 
brilliant  imaginary  superstructures  on  a  very  meagre  substratum  of  fact,  and  hence  the  mag- 
nificent proportions  of  the  imposing  edifice  are  in  constant  jeopardy  from  the  faintest  breath- 
ings of  hard  facts  and  common-sense  reality. 

Such  opinions,  the  result  of  ignorance  and  malappreciation,  must  still  continue  until  those 
men  whose  lives  are  devoted  solely  to  the  acquirement  of  a  practical  acquaintance  with  min- 
ing affairs  shall  have  impressed  upon  the  great  body  of  the  community  the  fundamental 
maxims  necessary  to  successful  mining.  These  may  be  summed  up  briefly  as  follows: 
First,  a  reasonably  large  estimate  of  cost ;  and,  secondly,  a  just  estimate  of  the  average 
working  yield  by  such  process,  either  amalgamation  or  smelting,  as  may  be  determined  upon 
by  a  reliable  and  competent  authority.  Undue  haste  in  erecting  mills  and  machinery  before 
a  suificient  degree  of  development  is  apparent,  has  been,  more  than  any  other  cause,  the 
fruitful  source  of  failure  and  disappointment.  Companies  organized  with  an  insufficient 
working  capital,  and  blunderingly  conducted,  find  their  resources  failing  them  precisely  at 
the  moment  when  most  needed,  and  many  mining  adventures  thus  prove  failures  even  when 
the  mine  itself  is  of  real  value. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  VARIOUS  METALS  AND  MINERALS. — There  seems  to  be  no  marked 
segregation  from  one  another  of  the  gold,  silver,  copper,  or  coal  bearing  localities,  other  than 
that  the  last  mentioned  is  found  mainly  in  the  sedimentary  formations  of  the  east.  Indeed, 
the  phenomenon  of  double  veins,  so  called,  namely,  those  having  pure  smelting  ores,  as 
galenas,  oxides  and  carbonates  of  lead  on  the  one  wall,  and  amalgamable  noble  silver  min- 
efals,  as  silver  glance,  stephanite,  dark  and  light  ruby  silver,  &c ,  &c.,  on  the  other,  are  of 
not  uncommon  occurrence.  Gold  is  found  over  a  wide  extent  of  country,  the  main  develop- 
ment of  which,  up  to  the  present  time,  has  been  expended  on  placer  deposits.  Vein  mining 
both  for  gold  and  silver  is  just  beginning  to  come  prominently  into  notice.  Gold  quartz  of 
greater  or  less  promise  has  been  found  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  all  the  localities  once 
celebrated  for  their  placers,  viz  :  near  Bannock,  Virginia  City,  Helena  City,  Highland,  &c., 
&c.  Silver  ores  suitable  for  smelting  are  found  in  the  Blue  Wing  and  Argenta  districts  in 
the  southwest,  also  in  the  vicinity  of  Jefferson  City,  in  several  of  the  districts  near  Helena, 
and  in  some  of  the  mines  of  Flint  creek  and  Mill  creek.  Silver  ores  suitable  for  amalgama- 
tion are  found  in  Brown's  gulch,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Virginia  City,  and  across  the  range 
in  Deer  Lodge  county,  on  one  of  the  branches  of  Flint  creek,  at  Philiipsburg,  &c.,  &c. 

Copper  ores,  ot  such  as  carry  a  predominating  percentage  of  this  metal,  are  found  among 


46  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

the  eastern  foot-hills,  near  the  sources  of  the  Muscleshell  river,  also  in  the  valley  of  the  Prickly 
Pear,  and  west  of  the  range  near  Butte  City.  Traces  of  this  metal  are  found  in  nearly  all 
the  mining  districts,  and  a  most  curious  formation  of  a  true  copper  placer  is  observable  near 
Beavertown,  a  short  distance  south  of  Jefferson  City.  The  particles  of  pure  copper,  pointed, 
yet  apparently  uncrystallized,  seem,  in  this  instance,  to  be  held  together  by  a  species  of 
quartzy  detritus. 

We  find,  also,  clays  and  sandstones  superimposed  and  underlying  the  coal  beds  in  those 
places  where  the  local  peculiarities  of  the  surface  have  proved  favorable  to  sedimentary  and 
ddft  formations — that  is,  mainly,  'as  before  stated,  in  the  east,  but  likewise  among  the  foot- 
hills and,  in  one  or  two  well-known  instances,  quite  high  up  on  the  mountains  of  the  west. 

CENTRES  OF  POPULATION.— The  chief  centres  of  population  in  the  Territory  are  three, 
viz :  Bannock,  Virginia  and  Helena  cities.  The  motive  of  their  foundation  was  the  extent 
and  profitableness  of  the  placer  deposits  in  their  immediate  vicinity.  And  since  the  limit  of 
productiveness  of  the  superficial  placers  may  be  determined  to  a  degree  of  reasonable  exact- 
ness, it  is  necessary  to  establish  a  claim  to  other  local  resources  in  order  to  maintain  in  the 
future  the  relative  pre-eminence  of  the  past. 

First  in  the  order  of  settlement  we  find  Bannock  City,  formerly  called  East  Bannock,  in 
contradistinction  to  another  town  of  the  same  name  lying  to  the  southwest,  and  then  like- 
wise in  the  Territory  of  Idaho.  The  diggings  were  discovered  in  the  summer  of  1862  by  one 
John  White,  from  Colorado.  The  town  is  situated  in  a  narrow  gorge  in  the  midst  of  a  series 
of  rolling  hills.  Through  it  there  flows  a  considerable  stream  of  water,  called  Willard's  or 
Grasshopper  creek,  which  is  a  tributary  to  one  of  the  three  chief  affluents  of  the  Jefferson 
river.  Considerable  mining  was  done  the  year  of  discovery.  The  majority  of  the  claims 
paid  well  and  uniformily  without  any  surprisingly  rich  yields.  The  gold  produced  was  of 
a  very  high  rate  of  fineness,  coining  $  19  50  per  ounce.  One  particularly  clean  and  choice 
lot,  of  upwards  of  $20,000,  taken  from  a  single  claim,  coined  the  very  unusual  sum  of  a  few 
cents  over  $20  per  ounce;  that  is  very  nearly  as  much  as  pure  gold,  which  is  valued  at 
$20  67  per  ounce.  The  placer  deposits  are  still  an  object  of  pursuit,  although  the  main 
reliance  in  the  future  must  be  the  vein  mines  opposite  to  and  below  the  town.  The  rocks  of 
the  vicinity  are  granite  and  metamorphic  limestone,  carrying  the  ore-bearing  quartz  lodes. 
We  find  some  quartzite,  and  above  the  town  clays  and  sandstones,  with  a  considerable 
deposit  of  alluvium  along  the  immediate  borders  of  the  creek. 

The  first  territorial  legislature  assembled  here,  and  among  its  other  enactments  promul- 
gated a  series  of  laws  determining  the  method  of  location,  record,  tenure,  &c.,  of  lode  claims. 
These  laws,  although  in  the  main  modelled  after  the  miner's  customs  of  Idaho,  which  were 
in  force  up  to  and  for  some  months  subsequent  to  the  date  of  segregation  therefrom  of  Montana, 
were,  nevertheless,  altered  in  several  minor  and  one  or  more  fundamental  points.  The  Idaho 
legislature  did  not  attempt  by  statutory  enactment  to  define  the  rights,  privileges  and  penalties 
of  the  miners,  but,  according  to  the  civil  practice  act,  permitted  to  be  brought  in  evidence 
"  proof  of  the  customs,  usages  or  regulations  established  and  in  force  in  the  mining  districts, 
embracing  such  claims  and  such  customs,  usages  or  regulations,  when  not  in  conflict  with 
the  laws  of  the  Territory,  shall  govern  the  decision  of  the  action."  (Civil  Practice  Act, 
sec.  576.)  As  showing  the  animus  of  the  framers,  and  the  opinions  in  vogue  in  Montana 
at  this  period,  it  may  not  be  inadmissible  to  insert  these  laws  here. 

We  may  premise  by  stating  that  these  mid -continental  Territories  are  stamped  with  the 
impress  of  Colorado.  From  geographical  contiguity,  and  the  fact  that  the  bulk  of  the  early 
immigration  found  its  way  hither  from  the  east,  it  is  only  to  be  expected  that  the  mining 
legislation  should  show  unmistakable  evidences  of  its  origin,  and  hence  be  clearly  distin- 
guishable from  that  of  the  west.  A  comparison  of  the  two  systems,  in  many  respects  funda- 
mentally at  variance,  will  be  touched  upon  hereafter. 

AN  ACT  relating  to  the  discovery  of  gold  and  silver  quartz  lends,  lodes,  or  ledges,  and  of  the  manner  of 
their  location.    (Approved  December  26,  1WJ4.) 

lie  it  enacted  by  the  legislative  assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Montana,  That  any  person  who  may  hereafter 
discover  any  quartz  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  shall  be  entitled  to  one  claim  thereon  *by  right  of  discovery,  and 
one  claim  each  by  pre-emption. 

S£C.  2.  That  in  order  to  entitle  any  person  or  persons  to  record  in  the  county  recorder's  office  of  the 
proper  county,  any  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  either  of  gold  or  silver,  or  claim  thereon,  there  shall  first  be  discov- 
ered on  said  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  a  vein  or  crevice  of  quartz  or  ore,  with  at  least  one  well-defined  wall. 

SEC.  3.  Claims  on  any  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  either  of  gold  or  silver,  hereafter  discovered,  shall  consist  of 
not  more  than  200  feet  along' the  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  together  with  all  dips,  spurs,  and  angles  emanating  or 
diverging  from  said  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  as  also  50  feet  on  each  side  of  said  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  for  working 
purposes:  Provided,  That  when  two  or  more  leads,  lodes,  or  ledges  shall  be  discovered  within  1(X)  feet  of 
each  other,  either  running  parallel  or  crossing  each  other,  the  ground  between  such  leads,  lodes,  or  ledges 
shall  belong  equally  to  the  claimants  of  said  leads,  lodes,  or  ledge*,  without  regard  to  priority  of  discovery 
or  pre-emption. 

SEC.  4.  When  any  leads,  lodes,  or  ledges  shall  cross  each  other,  the  quart;;,  ore,  or  mineral  in  the  crevico 
or  vein  at  the  place  of  crossing  shall  belong  to  and  be  the  property  of  the  claimants  upon  the  lead,  lode,  or 
ledge  first  discovered. 

SEC.  5.  That  before  any  record  shall  be  made,  under  the  provisions  of  this  a^t,  there  shall  be  placed  at 
each  extremity  of  the  discovered  claim  a  good  and  substantial  stake,  not  loss  than  five  inches  in  diameter, 
said  stake  to  be  firmly  planted  or  sunken  in  the  ground,  extending  two  feet  above  the  ground ;  that  upon 
each  stake  there  shall  be  placed,  in  legible  characters,  the  name  of  the  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  and  that  of  the 
discoverer  or  discoverers,  the  date  of  discovery,  and  the  name  of  each  pre-emptor  or  claimant,  and  tli« 
direction  or  bearing,  -as  near  as  may  be,  of  his  or  her  claim ;  said  stake  and  the  inscription  thereon  to 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  47 

be  replaced  at  least  once  in  twelve  months  by  the  claimants  on  said  leads,  lodes,  or  ledges,  if  torn  dovni  or 
otherwise  destroyed.  * 

SEC.  6.  Notice  of  the  discovery  or  pre-emption  upon  any  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  shall  be  filed  for  record  in  the 
county  recorder's  office,  of  the  county  in  which  the  same  may  be  situated,  within  fifteen  days  of  the  date  of 
the  discovery  or  pre-emption ;  and  there  shall  at  the  same  time  be  an  oath  taken  before  the  recorder  that  the 
claimant  or  claimants  are  each  and  all  of  them  bona  fide  residents  of  the  Territory  of  Montana ;  and  there 
shall  be  deposited  in  the  recorder's  oifice,  either  by  the  discoverer  or  some  pre-emptor,  a  specimen  of  the 
quartz,  ore,  or  mineral  extracted  or  taken  from  said  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  which  said  specimen  shall  be  prop- 
erly labelled  by  the  recorder  and  preserved  in  his  office. 

SEC.  7.  That  any  person  or  persons  who  shall  take  up  or  destroy,  or  cause  the  same  to  be  done,  any  of  the 
said  stakes,  or  who  shall  in  anywise  purposely  deface  or  obliterate  any  part  or  portion  of  the  writing  or 
inscription  placed  thereon,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof  before 
any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $1,000  or  imprisonment  in 
the  couuty  jail  not  more  than  90  days,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

SEC.  8.  "That  the  amount  of  ground  which  may  be  taken  up  upon  any  lead,  lode,  or  ledge,  in  addition  to 
the  discovery  claim,  shall  be  limited  to  1,000  feet  along  said  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  in  each  direction  from  the 
discovery  claim  thereon. 

SEC.  9.  All  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  claims,  taken  up  and  recorded  in  pursuance  with  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
shall  entitle  the  person  recording  to  hold  the  same  to  the  use  of  himself,  his  heirs  and  assigns ;  and  con- 
veyances of  quartz  claims  shall  hereafter  require  the  same  formalities  and  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  rules 
of  construction  as  the  transfer  and  comreyanco  of  real  estate. 

SEC.  10.  That  if  at  any  time  previous  to  the  passage  of  this  act,  claims  have  been  taken  up  and  recorded 
in  the  recorder's  office  of  the  proper  county,  upon  any  actual  or  proper  lead,  lode,  or  ledge  of  quartz,  ore.  or 
mineral,  the  owners  or  proper  claimants  of  said  respective  claim  shall  hold  the  same  to  the  use  of  them- 
selves, their  heirs  and  assigns. 

SEC.  11.  That  the  act  relating  to  the  discovery  of  gold  and  silver  quartz  lodes  and  the  manner  of  their 
location,  passed  by  the  Idaho  legislature  and  approved  February  4, 1864,  and  all  other  acts,  or  parts  of  acts, 
inconsistent  Avith'this  act,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  repealed. 

SEC.  12.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  this  date. 

Again,  by  aii  act  approved  January  17,  1865,  it  was  enacted  that  quartz  mining  claims 
and  water  rights  "  shall  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  county  records,  and  shall  be  evidence 
in  any  court  or  courts  of  competent  jurisdiction ;"  thus  placing  the  titles  to  quartz  claims  on 
the  same  footing  and  making  their  transfer  subject  to  the  same  formalities  as  those  to  real 
property. 

The  next  great  discovery,  viz.,  that  of  Alder  creek,  in  the  present  county  of  Madison, 
was  the  motive  to  the  foundation  of  Virginia  City,  and  the  minor  towns  of  Summit,  High- 
land, Nevada,  Central,  and  Junction.  This  gulch  was  the  richest  and  longest  ever  worked 
in  Montana,  and  probably  in  the  world,  being  nearly  20  miles  in  length,  and  uniformly  pro- 
ductive throughout  by  far  the  greater  portion.  The  creek  flowing  through  it  received  its 
name  from  the  thick  growth  of  alders  once  lining  its  banks,  of  which  at  present  no  twig  nor 
root  remains.  It  takes  its  rise  among  the  snows  of  the  bald  mountain  south  of  the  mining 
hamlet  called  Summit  City,  and  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Passamari,  or  Stinking  Water 
river,  one  of  the  tributaries  to  the  Jefferson. 

The  history  of  the  discovery  of  the  gulch  was  substantially  as  follows :  In  the  spring  of 
1863  there  started  out  from  Bannock,  on  n  prospecting  tour  northwards,  a  party  composed 
of  the  following  individuals :  Wm.  Fairweather,  Thos.  Cover,  B.  Hughes,  H.  Edgar,  L.  Sim- 
onds,  G.  On ,  Wm.  Sweeney,  and  H.  Rodgers.  Having  journeyed  as  far  us  the  Deer  Lodge 
valley  they  concluded  to  alter  their  course,  and,  leaving  Orr  behind,  they  made  their  way  to 
the  Yellowstone  country.  Here  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  large  party  of  Crow  Indians, 
who  relieved  them  of  nearly  all  their  provisions,  and  at  the  same  time  exchanged  horses 
with  them.  During  the  night  all  except  Simonds  managed  to  make  good  their  escape ;  they 
travelled  as  rapidly  as  possible,  without  halting  to  prospect,  and,  worn  out  with  fatigue, 
camped  on  the  east  side  of  the  stream  since  known  as  Alder  creek. 

Wrn.  Fairweather  crossed  over  the  stream,  and  on  examining  the  locality  observed  a  point 
where  the  bed  rock  lay  exposed  above  the  surface.  He  returned  to  the  camping  ground, 
and  in  the  company  of  Edgar  went  to  prospect  the  bar.  The  first  panful  of  earth  yielded 
$1  75,  and  after  superficially  testing  other  points,  in  all  of  which  they  obtained  encouraging 
prospects,  four  of  the  party  proceeded  formally  to  stake  their  claims.  Fairweather,  Edgar, 
Cover,  and  Hughes  marked  out  four  claims  on  what  was  afterwards  known  as  the  Fair- 
weather  bar.  They  likewise  secured  for  themselves  four  claims  on  Cover's  bar.  Rodgers 
and  Sweeney  staked  off  two  claims,  one  on  each  bar  named  after  themselves,  and  one  on  the 
Cover  bar.  Being  without  provisions  the  party  hurried  back  to  Bannock  City,  from  whence 
returning  in  company  of  their  friends,  the  gulch  was  staked  off  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  June, 
1863. 

Within  the  space  of  less  than  two  years  Alder  gulch  contained  five  thriving  towns  besides 
Virginia,  an  incorporated  city  containing  nearly  J0,000  inhabitants. 

This  Virginia  City,  Montana,  must  not  be  confounded  with  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  distant 
some  800  miles  on  an  air  line  to  the  southwest. 

At  the  head  of  the  gulch,  far  back  upon  the  mountains  and  nine  miles  south  of  the  city, 
the  gold  found  in  the  washings  was  coarse,  and  many  nuggets  were  picked  up  varying  in 
value  from  $200  to  $800.  A  short  distance  below  the  town  of  Summit  the  gold  appeared  in 
the  form  of  flat  rounded  plates,  known  as  scale  gold,  and  the  further  one  removed  down 
stream  the  finer  did  the  dust  appear,  until  it  consisted  almost  entirely  of  the  finest  particles, 
known  as  flour  gold.  During  1863,  the  year  of  discovery,  but  few  of  the  richest  claims 
were  opened  and  explored.  This  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  pay  stratum  lay  deep,  and 
hence  arose  the  necessity  for  unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  owners  of  contiguous  claims 


48  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

in  order  to  carry  out  a  systematic  plan  of  bed-rock  drainage.  The  following  year,  however, 
saw  the  full  development  of  this  most  remarkable  gulch. 

No  better  exemplification  of  the  spirit  of  the  miners  and  their  peculiar  customs  can  be 
offered  than  a  study  of  the  district  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  placer  claims. 
As  proving  a  good  example  of  their  kind,  and  containing  a  reasonably  clear  and  concise 
statement  of  the  wishes  and  rights  of  the  miners  as  expressed  by  themselves,  we  have  the 
following  regulations  of  Alder  gulch.  These  laws  were  drafted  by  a  select  committee  chosen 
at  a  meeting  of  the  miners  en  masse;  the  motive  to  which  is  contained  in  the  following  pre- 
amble : 

Whereas  the  laws  now  in  force  in  Fainventher  district,  Madison  county,  Montana  Territory,  have  proved 
insufficient  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  minors  of  said  district ; 

And  whereas  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  miners  of  the  district  are  of  such  a  nature  as  not  to  admit  of 
a  resort  to  the  tedions  remedy  of  the  ordinary  process  of  law  for  every  violation  of  those  rights  : 

Now,  therefore,  we,  the  miners  of  said  district,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  in  pursuance  of  legal  notice, 
for  the  purpose  of  defending  our  rights  and  duties,  and  the  protection  of  onr  several  interests,  do  hereby 
resolve  and  declare  that  the  rules  and  provisions  following  shall  be  the  law  of  Fail-weather  district  from  the 
date  of  enactment,  viz :  September  1 6, 18(i4. 

ARTICLE  A. 

SECTION  1.  Hereafter  the  officers  of  the  district  shall  consist  of  a  president  and  secretary,  who  shall  hold 
their  offices  for  the  term  of  six  months,  and  until  their  successors  are  duly  elected  and  enter  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  their  office. 

SEC.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  miners  of  the  district  at  any  time  on 
the  written  application  of  five  claimholders  of  the  district,  of  which  he  shall  give  three  days'  notice  previous 
to  the  day  of  meeting,  by  three  written  or  printed  advertisements  put  at  three  of  the  most  public  places  iu 
the  district,  and  he  shall  preside  at  each  meeting. 

SEC.  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  secretary  to  attend  all  meetings  called  by  the  president,  and  keep  a  true 
record  of  the  proceedings  thereof,  and  file  the  same  with  the  county  recorder ;  and  he  shall  preside  at  all 
meetings  When  the  president  is  absent. 

SEC.  4.  After  suit  commenced  in  any  case  wherein  the  title  to  a  claim  is  called  in  question,  neither  party 
shall  be  held  liable  to  represent  said  claim  during  the  pendency  of  litigation,  but  the  same  shall  be  deemed 
to  be  represented  in  favor  of  the  real  owner  by  operation  of  law. 

SEC.  5.  Every  person  shall  be  entitled  to  hold,  by  pre-emption,  one  creek,  bar,  or  hill  claim,  and  as  many 
of  either  kind  by  purchase  as  he  shall  represent,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  district. 

SEC.  6.  Any  co-partnership  or  company  of  persons  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  the  same  number  of  claims  by 
pre-emption  and  purchase  as  the  number  of  persons  comprising  such  co-partnership  or  company  would  bo 
utitled  to  hold  in  their  individual  capacity. 

SEC.  7.  The  lessee  of  a  claim  (if  he  shall  have  agreed  to  completely  work  out  the  same,  and  his  loaso  bo 


entitled  to  hold  in  their  individual  capacity. 

3.  7.  The  lessee  of  a  claim  (if  he  shall  have  agreed  to  completely 
recorded)  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  one  claim  by  pre-emption,  and  his  work  done  on  the  leased  claim  repre- 


empted  by  him. 

SEC.  8.  No  person  who,  having  pre-empted  a  claim  by  recording  thereon,  lias  forfeited  the  same,  or  who 
has  failed  to  receive  a  good  title  thereto,  or  who  shall  in  good  faith  sell  and  convey  the  same,  shall  be  thereby 
debarred  from  holding  another  claim  by  pre-emption. 

SEC.  9.  Every  claim  shall  be  considered  as  pre-empted  upon  which  the  pre-emptor  or  purchaser  shall,  by 
himself,  his  agent,  or  hired  hands,  perform  three  full  days  Work  in  each  week,  and  sucli  representative  of 
each  and  every  claim  that  such  pre-emptor  or  purchaser  holds  in  the  district,  provided  that  each  and  all  of 
said  claims  have  been  duly  recorded ;  and  if  any  person  shall  represent  a  claim  by  working  thereon  without 
having  his  bill  of  sale  or  other  conveyance  thereof  duly  recorded,  then  and  in  that  case  he  shall  not  be 
entitled  to  hold  any  other  claim  in  the  district,  either  by  pre-emption  or  purchase,  but  shall  be  confined  and 
limited  to  the  claim  upon  which  he  has  so  worked  until  it  is  recorded. 

SEC.  10.  Co-partners  in  any  company  or  companies,  working  one  claim  in  the  district,  shall  be  considered 
as  representing  thereby  all  the  claims  held  by  them  in  the  district. 

SEC.  11.  Any  claim  to  which  a  drain  ditch  is  commenced  or  beginning,  if  the  holder  of  the  same  shall 
compose  one  of  the  ditch  company,  or  shall  put  and  continue  hands  at  work  in  the  same,  shall  be  considered 
as  duly  represented  until  the  drain  ditch  is  completed  to  such  claim. 

SEC*  12.  The  absence  of  any  person  from  the  district  shall  not  impair  or  invalidate  his  rights  therein,  pro- 
vided bis  interests  are  represented  by  his  partners  or  agents,  or  men  in  his  employ. 

SEC.  13.  The  rights  of  a  sick  member  shall  be  respected  during  his  illness,  and  the  certificate  of  a  physi- 
cian shall  be  sufficient  evidence  of  such  illness. 

SEC.  14.  Any  miner  who  shall  have  expended  $600  on  his  claim,  or  who,  for  want  of  money  for  opening 
the  same,  is  unable  to  represent  according  to  law,  shall  have  the  privilege  of  working  on  any  other  claim  in 
the  district  in  order  to  raise  money  to  enable  him  fully  to  open  his  own  claim,  provided'  ho  shall  put  up 
notices  on  his  own  claim,  stating  where  he  is  at  work,  and  his  rights  shall  be  respected  during  the  time  lie 
is  so  at  work  for  others. 

SEC.  15.  It  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  person  or  company  to  dig  a  drain  ditch  through  the  claim  or 
claims  of  any  person  or  company,  for  the  purpose  of  drainage ;  and  any  person  or  company  making  such 
ditch  shall  have  a  lieu  upon  any  and  all  such  claims  thoroughly  drained  thereby  for  a  just  and  equal  propor- 
tion of  the  cost  thereof.  But  no  lien  shall  be  enforced  until  the  holder  of  the  claim  affected  thereby  shall 
avail  himself  of  the  benefit  of  the  ditch. 


SEC.  16.  The  water  iu  any  creek  or  gulch  shall  belong  exclusively 
SEC.  17.  Each  gulch  claim  shall  be  entitled  to  one  sluice-head  of 


water  of  not  less  than  twenty  iivc 

be  measured  subject  to  a  pressure  of  six  inches,  and  such  additional  quantity  as  may  be  necessary  fo 
purposes,  if  such  additional  quantity  be  not  used  to  the  injury  of  the  rights  of  others. 

SEC.  18.  The  interest  of  the  holder  or  holders  of  any  creek  or  gulch  claim  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  chattel 
interest,  consisting  of  the  right  to  the  possession  of  the  land  and  the  water  thereupon  inseparable  and  indi- 
visible, except  by  the  consent  of  the  party  or  parties  iu  interest,  made  in  due  form  of  law,  and  then  only  to 
such  an  extent  as  shall  not  impair  or  infringe  the  rights  of  othors. 

SEC.  19.  No  person  or  persons  in  company  shall  have  the  right,  by  pre-emption  or  otherwise,  to  claim  and 
hold  an  exclusive  right  or  privilege  in  or  to  any  portion  of  the  water  in  any  crook  or  gulch  in  the  district, 
except  as  herein  provided;  and  any  ditch,  pipe,  channel,  Hume,  or  other  means  of  conveyance  heretofore 
made,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  made,  by  which  the  water  in  any  creek  or  gulch  in  the  district  shall  be 
directed  from  its  original  channel  and  earned  beyond  any  creek  or  ir'nlcli  dsiim,  without  leaving  in  the  creek 
or  gulch  the  quantity  of  water  belonging  to  each  claim,  is  hereby  declared  to  bo,  a  public  nuisance,  and  may 
be  abated  immediately,  in  such  way  and  manner  as  shall  be  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  this  Territory 
and  the  common  law  of  the  land. 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  49 

SEC.  20.  All  dams,  flumes,  embankments,  or  other  obstructions,  which  shall  cause  tailings  to  accumulate, 
or  a  division  of  the  water,  to  the  damage  of  the  miners  above  or  below  the  sarao,  shall  be  deemed  public 
nuisances,  antl  may  be  abated  in  the  manner  hereinbefore  provided  for  other  cases ;  and  all  persons  injured 
thereby  shall  be  entitled  to  recover  damages  of  the  person  or  persons  who  have  created,  or  may  create, 
authorize,  or  permit,  upon  his  or  their  claims,  all  or  any  of  said  nuisances. 

SEC.  21.  No  miner  shall  so  ran  his  tailings,  or  shovel  or  pile  up  the  same,  as  to  damage  any  claim,  either 
above  or  below  him. 

SEC.  22.  Any  miner  of  a  creek  or  gulch  claim  who  shall  suffer  injury  by  the  escape  of  water  from  any  side, 
ditch,  shall  be  entitled  to  recover  damages  therefor  by  the  ordinary  process  of  law. 

SEC.  23.  It  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  place  or  run  tailings  into  a  side  ditch  made  for  the  protec- 
tion of  a  pit  or  drain  ditch. 

SEC.  24.  Every  claim  not  duly  represented,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  district,  until  the  day  upon  which 
the  claims  in  this  district  may  at  any  time  hereafter  be"" laid  by,  shall  be  forfeited ;  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
another  person  to  record  and  pre-empt  such  forfeited  claim  at'auv  time  after  the  day  on  which  the  claims  in 
the  district  shall  be  laid  by,  and  before  the  first  day  of  May  nest  following. 

SEC.  25.  Hereafter  all  claims  shall  be  deemed  to  be  laid  by  during  the  interval  between  the  last  day  of 
October  and  the  first  day  of  May  of  each  year. 

SEC.  26.  All  rules,  laws,  and  regulations  heretofore  in  this  district,  not  conflicting  with  the  laws,  rules, 
and  regulations  herein  enacted,  are  hereby  continued  in  force ;  and  all  laws,  rules,  and  regulations  heretofore 
in  force,  conflicting  in  the  least,  in  whole  or  in  part,  with  any  of  the  laws,  rules,  and  regulations  herein 
adopted,  or  any  portion  thereof,  are  hereby  repealed. 

SEC.  27.  These  laws  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  this  IGth  day  of  September,  A.  D.  18G4. 

AUTICLE  B. 

SECTION  1.  Ear  mining  claims  shall  consist  of  100  feet  up  and  down  the  gulch  or  creek,  and  running  back 
the  width  of  the  bar. 

SEC.  2.  Creek  claims  shall  be  100  feet  in  length,  and  including  the  bar  or  creek  bottom  and  head  of  the 
stream. 

SEC.  3.  All  discovery  claims  shall  be  safely  held,  whether  worked  or  not. 

SEC.  4.  The  centre  of  the  creek  shall  be  the  line. 

Northwardly  from  Virginia  City  wo  find  Bivin's  gulch,  which  drains  from  east  t<5>  west 
into  the  Passamari,  a  tributary  to  the  Jefferson  river..  The  gulch  is  about  nine  miles  long-, 
and  paid  well  throughout  nearly  its  entire  length.  A  ditch  was  brought  in  from  Rain's  Horn 
creek,  with  a  sufficient  fall  for  the  introduction  of  bed-rock  flumes.  Still  further  north,  flow- 
ing ia  a  like  direction  from  the  same  range,  we  find  Mill,  Wisconsin,  and  Indian  creeks,  and 
the  above-mentioned  Ram's  Horn  creek,  none  of  which  appear  to  have  been  remarkable  for 
placer  deposits  of  any  magnitude. 

The  discovery  next  in  importance,  subsequent  to  that  of  Alder  gulch,  was  Last  Chance 
gulch,  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Helena.  This  gulch  was  discovered  in  the  summer 
of  1804,  and  the  first  claims  were  staked  by  a  company  of  some  20  or  25  persons.  This 
party,  after  locating  claims  for  themselves  near  the  point  of  discovery,  moved  further  down 
the  ravine,  forming  a  new  district,  and  there,  likewise,  staked  off  for  themselves  an  equal 
number  of  pre-emptions.  Subsequently  a  party  of  immigrants  from  Minnesota,  arriving  too 
late  to  proceed  to  Alder  gulch,  began  prospecting  in  the  adjacent  tributary  gulches,  and  dis- 
covered the  diggings  of  Grizzly  and  Oro  Fino.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  February  of 
the  following  year  that  the  truth  in  regard,  to  its  great  richness  became  generally  known. 
Those  who  had  already  pre-empted  claims  and  had  worked  on  them  during  the  latter  part  of 
the"  summer  satisfied  prying  interrogatories  by  replying,  in  the  language  of  the  miners,  thtit 
"they  were  making  grub,"  or,  in  other  words,  gaining  nothing  beyond  a  bare  support. 

The  city  of  Helena  lies  on  both  sides  of  Last  Chance  gulch,  and  just  above  its  point  of 
junction  with  the  valley  of  the  Prickly  Pear,  an  affluent  to  the  Missouri,  and  on^the  low 
ridge  separating  Last  Chance  from 'Dry  gulch,  running  parallel  thereto.  Oro  Fino  and 
Grizzly  are  tributary  to  the  former,  and  Bowery  and  Tucker  to  the  latter.  In  the  distance 
north  are  to  be  seen  the  jagged  peaks  of  the  Bear's  Teeth  mountains.  The  hills  of  the  imme- 
diate vicinity,  however,  present  a  series  of  gentle  acclivities,  with  a  considerable  covering 
of  wash. 

We  find  near  the  town  a  very  curious  intermingling  of  limestone,  sandstone,  and  quartzite, 
and  on  the  hills  back  of  the  town  a  heavy  body  of  granite,  from  whose  quartz  veins  the 
valleys  and  adjacent  gulches  were,  beyond  a  doubt,  filled  with  their  auriferous  detritus. 
Helena  forms  the  actual  centre  of  a  very  extensive  network  of  placer  deposits,  embracing 
upwards  of  40  miles  of  greater  or  less  richness. 

The  bulk  of  the  auriferous  treasure  is  now  exhausted.  Desultory  mining  is,  it  is  true,  still 
prosecuted  in  several  of  the  neighboring  ravines,  as  Last  Chance,  Nelson,  &c.  The  first 
rude  washings  always  leave  behind  them  a  greater  or  less  percentage  of  gold,  dependent 
upon  the  skill  of  the  workers  and  upon  the  form  of  the  dust,  whether  coarse  or  fine,  the 
former  being  saved  with  the  greater  ease.  The  placers,  once  worked  over,  are  said  to  be 
exhausted  ;  that  is,  will  no  longer  yield  a  profit  except  with  cheaper  labor  or  a  more  thorough 
and  systematic  method  of  mining.  The  diggings  now  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Chinese, 
who  patiently  glean  the  fields  abandoned  by  the  whites;  or,  where  -the  ground  is  favorable, 
it  is  bought  up  by  capitalists  for  the  purpose  of  a  reworking  by  what  is  known  as  bed-rock 
flumes.  The  treasure  overlooked  in  the  first  rude  washings  of  Alder  gulch  and  the  famous 
Last  Chance,  &c.,  of  Helena,  yet  await  a  reworking  on  this  plan.  That  such  has  not  already 
been  done  is  with  difficult}'  explainable,  especially  in  regard  to  the  last  mentioned  gulch, 
where  27  miles  of  main  ditches,  carrying  4,000  inches  of  water,  miners'  measurement,  may 
be  readily  diverted  to  that  end.  Undertakings  of  this  character  in  California  and  elsewhere 
often  yield  as  much  if  not  more  than  that  obtained  from  the  first  washings. 

4  T 


50  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

It  would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  kere  all  or  even  a  large  proportion  of  the  gulches  east 
of  the  mountains  within  25  miles  of  the  city  of  Helena.  Portions  of  the  same  placer  system, 
extend  across  the  Ttfissouri  river  to  the  northeast,  and  others  again  bear  away  to  the  north  as 
far  as  Silver  City.  All  have  been  productive  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  Near  their  sources, 
as  is  usual,  were  found  large  masses  of  gold,  called  nuggets,  and  a  diminishing  size  of  grain 
the  further  we  remove  down  stream.. 

The  ravines  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  town  were  but  poorly  supplied  with  water, 
a  want  which  has  long  since  been  removed  by  an  elaborate  system  of  flumes  and  ditches. 

A  few  of  the  more  prominent  gulches  may  be  enumerated  and  described,  as  follows: 

Last  Chance,  the  first  discovered,  is  seven  to  eight  miles  hmg.  In  May  of  1865  a  drain 
ditch  was  run  underneath  the  town  to  drain  the  bed  rock  of  this  gulch,  to  the  more  conven- 
ient extraction  of  the  pay  stratum,  v?hieh  averaged  some  4  feet  in  depth  by  18  feet  in  width. 

Grizzly  was  remarkable  in  having  two  pay  strata,  the  one  above  the  other,  thus  proving 
that  the  sources  of  gold  supply  were  tapped  at  two  different  periods,  and  were  separated  from 
one  another  by  a  deposit  of  non-auriferous  wash. 

Nelson,  first  prospected  December  25,  18::>4,  and  hence  called  Christmas  gulch,  is  distant 
from  Helena  eight  miles,  and  had  a  narrow  pay  streak  of  remarkably  high-grade  gold.  The 
auriferous  dirt  was  found  at  a  depth  of  35  to  40  feet,  after  passing  through  a  barren  wash 
gravel.  The  bed  rock  consisted  of  a  whitish  decomposed  sandstone,  having  upon  it  no  large 
amount  of  water.  The  gulch  is  some  six  miles  long,  and  heads'  near  the  same  summit  from 
whence  issues  Grizzly,  and  runs  at  right  angles  to  the  last  named.  Nelson  gulch  produced 
in  1865  a  large  and  curiously  shaped  nugget,  resembling  an  oyster  shell,  and  in  value  $'2,075. 

Dry  gulch,  so  called  from  the  absence  therein  of  a  running  stream,  produced  earth  suffi- 
ciently rich  to  pay  for  hauling  to  water,  a  distance  of  one-half  to  one  and  one-half  miles. 

To  the  east,  and  between  Helena  and  Montana  cities,  are  two  dry  gulches,  each  about 
nine  miles  long,  running  very  nearly  parallel  and  heading  in  the  same  summit. 

Across  the  Missouri  river,  some  20  miles  southeast  of  Caiioii  Ferry,  we  find  Diamond  City 
and  the  famous  Confederate  gulch.  From  one  of  the  bars  of  this  ravine  a  small  party  of 
five  or  six  men  are  said  to  have  taken  out  in  the  summer  of  1864  about  1,400  pounds  of 
gold  dust,  in  value  nearly  $300,000  coin.  Confederate  is  situated  nearly  35  miles  cast  of 
Helena,  and  in  that  part  of  Gallatin  county  named  in  honor  of  the  late  General  Meagher. 
It  takes  its  rise  in  the  Belt  range  of  mountains,  and  pursues  a  southwest  course  for  15  miles. 
Diamond  City,  the  nucleus  of  a  very  extensive  series  of  hydraulic  workings,  is  on  Confed- 
erate gulch,  six  miles  from  its  source.  The  bed  rock  consists  of  slate. 

As  tributary  gulches,  we  find  Cement,  Montana,  Greenhorn,  Boulder,  Baker,  &c.  Imme- 
diately above  the  town  are  the  great  bars  called  Montana  and  Last  Chance.  Four  miles 
north  of  Confederate,  and  running  parallel,  we  have  White's  gulch,  and  passing  over  the 
summit  we  arrive  at  Ihomas's  gulch. 

Dismissing  with  this  cursory  description  the  placers  to  the  east,  we  may  briefly  touch  upon 
those  west  of  the  main  range.  The  latter,  amid  the  general  impoverishment  of  tue  washings, 
have,  during  the  past  season,  attracted  more  attention  than  any  others.  Prominent  among 
ttrese  are  the  gulches  in  the  vicinity  of  Blackfbot  City,  which  is  situated  in  Deer  Lodge 
county,  amd  distant  from  Helena  25  miles  by  the  trail.  Opposite  to  Helena,  being  on  the 
other  side  of  the  range,  and  draining  from-off  the  western  slopes  towards  the  west  and  south- 
west, we  find  tke  Little  Blackfoot,  Cottonwood,  and  Silver  Bow  creeks,  which  form  the 
easternmost  affluents  to  the  Hell  Gate  river.  These  streams,  with  their  minor  tributaries, 
give  rise  to  numerous  gulches,  of  which  the  more  important  may  be  enumerated  and  described 
as  follows :  Tiger  gulch,  the  first  struck  in  the  vicinity,  was  discovered  by  Colonel  Pember- 
ton,  Hugh  Bealton,  and  party,  late  in  the  winter  of  1864.  Ophir,  discovered  in  the  spring 
following,  lies  to  the  north  of  and  is  tributary  to  the  Little  Blackfoot.  We  have,  further, 
McClellan,  near  Blackfoot  City  ;  Washington,  west  of  and  some  12  miles  distant  from  Ophir; 
Jefferson,  parallel  to  and  two  miles  distant  from  Washington  ;  Madison,  two  and  a  half  miles 
northwest  of  Jefferson  ;  and  Carpenter's  bar,  some  two  miles  east  of  Blackfoot  City,  forming 
a  portion  of  a  long  rolling  prairie.  Northwardly  from  the  last-named  gulch  is  found  a  series 
of  veins  bearing  away  towards  Snow  Shoe,  Dead  wood,  and  Uncle  Ben's  gulches,  which 
head  near  the  crests  of  the  main  range.  On  the  very  highest  point  of  this  vicinity  there, 
were  found  dry  diggings  sufficiently  remunerative  to  warrant  hauling  the  auriferous  earth  a 
long  distance  to  water,  down  the  mountain.  Here  a  nugget  was  found  in  value  somewhat 
over  $:5,000  in  coin.  The  formation  of  this  district  consists,  in  the  main,  of  granite,  with 
occasional  stretches  of  clay  slate  near  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  occasionally  a  species 
of  indurated  talcose  slate. 

There  further  appears  quite  an  extensive  body  of  placers  on  the  south  side  of  the  Hell  Gate 
river,  and  in  the  mountains  enclosing  the  valley  of  the  Deer  Lodge.  .  Of  these,  we  may 
enumerate  Elk  creek,  some  14  miles  long,  with  u  pay  stratum  of  about  four  feet ;  Bear  gulch, 
seven  to  eight  miles  long,  with  a  bed  rock  covered  up  to  a  depth  of  40  feet;  also  Dave's, 
Deep,  Rock,  Douglas,  &c.  » 

The  placers  of  Silver  Bow  and  Butte  City,  seven  miles  above,  are  situated,  likewise,  on 
the  western  slope  of  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  Deer  Lodge  valley  and  about  DO  miles 
distant  from  Virginia  City.  The  Silver  Bow  diggings  were  discovered  in  July,  ]8<i4,  by  a 
prospector  named  barber.  For  six  months  subsequent  thereto  they  attracted  but  little  atteu- 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  51 

tion.  The  success  of  the  Pennsylvania  company,  however,  again  brought  them  into  notice 
so  favorably  that,  as  a  result,  claims  were  taken,  up  and  recorded  a  disjatace  of  25  miles. 
The  creek,  especially  in  the  lower  portions,  has  the  very  insignificant  fall  of  little  more  than 
four  inches  to  the  100  feet,  whereby  the  drainage  is  rendered  difficult  and  a  dump  for  the  tail- 
ings almost  unattainable.  The  gold  dust  from  this  locality  has  the  unenviable  notoriety  of 
being  of  a  lower  grade  of  fineness  than  that  from  any  other  gulch  in  the  Territory,  coining 
from  $12  to  $14  per  ounce,  while  the  average  of  the  other  gulches  runs  from  $16  50  up  to 
$20  40  per  ounce.  The  latter  yield  is  producible  only  from  choice  and  clean  dust  from  high 
lands.  This  gulch  and  Silver  Bow  head  in  the  same  summit,  and  very  nearly  opposite  to 
one  another,  the  former  being  on  the  eastern  and  the  latter  on  the  western  slope,  and,  curiously 
enough,  the  one  produces  the  richest  and  the  other  the  poorest  gulch  gold  of  Montana. 

A  few  miles  west  of  Silver  Bow  we  find  German  gulch,  tributary  to  Deer  Lodge ;  it  is 
some  15  miles  long,  and  was  discovered  in  1864  by  a  party  of  Germans,  who  are  believed 
to  have  been  more  than  ordinarily  successful.  f 

The  placer  deposits  of  Montana  have  been  worked  with  the  same  contrivances  for  saving 
gold  as  were  used  in  California  :  the  primitive  rocker  and  the  long-torn  have  given  place  to 
the  improved  strings  of  sluice  boxes,  and,  where  the  ground  permitted  a  sufficiency  of  fall, 
bed-rock  flumes  and  hydraulics  have  lent  their  assistance  to  facilitate  the  extraction  of  the 
gold.^  Where  the  bed  rock  lay  deep,  and  where  the  pay  stratum  was  covered  up  to  a  consid- 
erable depth,  the  auriferous  gravel  was  obtained  by  sinking  shafts,  drifting  out  and  raising 
it  to  the  surface  by  bucket  and  windlass. 

In  a  country  so  widely  covered  with  drift,  many  very  rich  deposits  have,  beyond  question, 
been  overlooked,  owing  to  the  great  body  of  barren  matter  overlying  them.  This  supposi- 
tion is  rendered  the  more  probable  when  we  reflect  upon  the  small  number  of  deep  placers 
or  cement  diggings  yet  brought  to  light. 

Assuming  as  true  the  usually  accepted  theory  of  the  formation  of  placer  deposits,  viz..  tho 
disintegration  of  some  pre-existing  series  of  quartz  veins,  either  by  flowing  waters  or  by 
the  beating  against  them  of  the  waves  of  some  inland  sea,  and  we  canngt  fail  to  accept  the 
belief  that  placers  richer  and  more  extensive  than  any  heretofore  discovered  yet  await,  under 
great  hills  of  gravel,  some  fortunate  prospector. 

GOLD  PRODUCT  OF  MONTANA. — We  must  premise  any  estimates  by  the  statement  of  the 
peculiar  difficulties  of  arriving  at  any  conclusion  susceptible  of  a  demonstration.  In  the 
first  place  local  interests  and  territorial  pride  combine  with  a  mistaken  estimate  of  the  value 
of  placer  deposits  to  enlarge  the  returns  of  bullion.  The  surface  washings  ought  not  to  be 
regarded  other  than  in  the  light  of  an  advertisement  for  a  district ;  ephemeral  producers 
of  wealth,  they  leave  nothing  behind  them  but  desolation,  and  unless  supplemented  by  other 
sources  of  revenue,  give  rise  to  a  fictitious  prosperity,  to  be  followed  by  a  period  of  depres- 
sion and  stagnation.  The  hiatus  between  profitable  placers  and  remunerative  quartz  mines 
is  now  apparent  here  in  Montana.  Some  little  time  is  requisite  to  educate  the  community, 
by  hard  experience,  to  a  realization  of  the  radical  difference  between  surface  washings  and 
deep  vein  mining.  The  placers  yield  up  their  treasures  with  a  comparatively  trifling  outlay 
of  time  and  capital.  The  quartz  veins,  on  the  contrary,  forming  the  basis  for  permanent 
undertakings  and  returns  of  profits  through  a  long-  series  of  years,  cannot  be  made  immedi- 
ately productive,  except  through  fortuitous  concurrence  of  favorable  circumstances.  Patience, 
foresight,  and  the  exercise  of  a  true  economy,  seldom  fail  to  prevent  great  losses,  and  in  most 
cases  return  an  enormous  profit. 

The  proportion  of  bullion  produced  by  the  vein  mines  has  not,  as  yet,  amounted  to  any 
considerable  percentage  of  the  gross  yield,  and  hence  does  not  call  for  a  separate  estimate. 
The  year  1868,  however,  will  doubtless  demand  from  this  source  a  more  detailed  consideration. 

Another  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  precise  statement  of  gold  product  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
large  quantities  of  dust  can  be,  and  doub-tless  have  been  removed  northwardly  into  the 
British  possessions  of  which  no  record  is  possible.  Again,  the  distance  of  land  transportation 
to  Fort  Benton,  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Missouri,  is  so  trifling  that  merchants  and 
miners  act  as  their  own  transportation  agents,  and  hence  the  precise  amount  carried  away  by 
them  can  never  be  ascertained.  Montana's  bullion  account,  at  least  until  1865,  was  largely 
credited  to  Washington,  Idaho,  or  Colorado,  and  hence  the  tables  as  reported  by  the  United 
States  mints  do  not  represent  her  true  yield. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  United  States  revenue  collector  for  the  following  figures,  which  form, 
in  my  judgment,  a  more  reliable  series  of  estimate  for  Montana  than  have  ever  been  given 
to  the  public. 

The  product  of  1862  may  be  set  down  at  $300,000,  and  was  due  almost  solely  to  the  placers 
at  Bannock.  The  great  body  of  the  miners  were  then  very  poor ;  no  considerable  stocks  of 
goods  were  at  hand  to  tempt  purchasers,  so  that  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  yield  came  into 
the  possession  of  traders,  whose  shipments  could  be  determined  to  a  degree  of  reasonable 
exactness.  In  the  absence  of  banks  or  any*  safe  place  of  deposit  the  miners  were  accustomed 
to  "cac/te"  their  earnings,  and  to  await  a  favorable  opportunity  for  exporting  the  gold  from 
the  ccuntiy. 

The  product  of  the  following  year  was  largely  increased  by  the  discovery  and  partial 
opening  of  the  mines  of  Alder  gulch,  and  may  safely  be  estimated  to  have  reached  a  total  of 
16,000,000. 


52  RESOURCES    OF    STAGES    AND    TERRITORIES 

In  1864,  Alder  gulch  was  folly  developed,  and  with  Bannock  and  the  other  districts%of  tke 
Territory,  the  amount  produced  reached  some  $16,000,000. 

The  year  1865  was  the  gala  year  of  Montana,  the  rich  network  of  gulches  centring  about 
Helena,  the  famous  Confederate  gulch  across  the  Missouri,  and  the  diggings  near  Black- 
foot  combined  to  swell  the  product  to  at  least  $18,000,000. 

In  the  year  1866  the  placers  began  so  show  symptoms  of  exhaustion ;  more  extended 
workings  were  necessary.  Great  flumes  and  ditches  were  built,  and  hydraulics  were  under- 
taken to  wash  localities  unworkable  without  the  aid  of  capital,  and  by  nature  uusupplied 
with  water.  As  a  result  we  may  estimate  for  that  year  a  production  of  about  $17,500,000. 

The  amount  yielded  by  the  present  season,  1867,  now  nearly  closed,  has  been  very  mate- 
rially less  than  that  of  the  past  year,  and  a  liberal  estimate  would  not  set  the  figure  higher 
than  $12,000,000.  Tabulating  the  above  figures,  we  have  the  following  : 

Gold  product  of  Montana. 

In  1862  a  yield  of $600,000 

Inl863  a  yield  of 8,000,000 

Inl86i  a  yield  of 16,000,000 

In  1865  a  yield  of 18,000,000 

In  1866  a  yield  €>f 17,500,000 

In  1867  a  yield  of - 12,000,000 

Total  for  six  years w - 72,100,000 


As  corroborative  of  the  reasonableness  of  the  above  estimates,  we  may  present  the  follow- 
ing conclusions  derived  from  a  multiplication  of  the  total  average  population  by  the  average 
cost  of  living. 

As  already  stated,  the  population  of  the  Territory  during  the  three  years  1864,  1865,  and 
1866  remained  very  nearly  uniform,  numbering  from  21.000  to  24,000  souls.  It*  now  we 
-place  the  average  at  22r500,  and  assume  that  the  great  mass  of  the  community  were  at  the 
close  of  this  period  no  better  off  pecuniarily  than  before  ;  that  is,  that  the  placers  have  fur- 
nished a  bare  subsistence  for  the  people  and  no  more,  and  further,  rating  the  average  cost  of 
living  as  low  as  $750  per  annun  for  each  individual,  we  have  a  total  of  $16,875,000  average 
amount  of  product  of  the  placers  for  three  years.  Comparing  this  result  with  the  average 
of  the  estimates  of  Mr.  Langford  and  \ve  find  between  them  a  remarkable  coincidence  and 
striking  corroboration. 

LoDfc  MINING. — In  treating  of  the  distribution  of  the  various  metals  and  minerals  refer- 
ence was  incidentally  mado  to  the  districts  containing  quartz  lodes.  These  have  been 
found  almost  universally  at  the  heads  of  the  gulches  or  within  a  short  distance  of  all  locali- 
ties heretofore  noted  as  prolific  centres  of  placer  deposits.  In  addition,  we  have  a  number  of 
districts  unconnected  with  the  gulch  mines  and  productive  of  smelting  or  amalgamating  ores, 
some  of  which  are  amongst  those  of  greatest  promise  ia  the  Territory. 

It  is  as  yet  premature  to  speak  of  any  extraordinary  developments.  This  is  owing  to 
two  causes,  first,  the  youth  of  the  Territory,  and  secondly,  the  peculiarity  of  the  local  laws. 
In  this  connection  we  may  compare  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  mid-continental  territories 
with  those  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  latter  are  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Mexican  "  Or- 
denanza  de  Mineria,"  in  many  respects  the  most  perfect  mining  code  ever  invented,  while 
the  former  are  almost  entirely  a  home  production  and  are  founded  upon  a  totally  different 
conception  of  mines  and  mining.  The  animus  of  the  one  implies  that  all  miners  arc-  a  priori 
valueless  until  the  contrary  be  proven  ;  that  of  the  other  presupposes  precisely  the  rever.su. 
The  one  encourages  reasonably  largo  holdings  so  that  the  ore  zone  on  the  vein  diminishing 
or  dissappeariug  at  one  point  may  be  sought  for  at  another  withotit  incurring  anew  the  out- 
lay for  shaft,  hoisting  works,  pumps,  &c.,  in  a  word,  the  expense  of  the  complete  parapher- 
nalia of  a  working  shaft;  the  other,  with  very  small  holdings  aud  aggregated  ownerships, 
complicates  unnecessarily  and  unreasonably  the  risks  attending  most  mining  adventures. 

The  law  of  January  17,  1865,  placing  mining  claims  on  the  same  footing  as  real  estate, 
has  resulted  disadvantageously  to  the  community,  and  has  conferred  upon  the  individual  no 
other  gain  than  the  doubtful  satisfaction  of  a  clear  title  to  what  may  or  may  not  prove  of 
value.  No  system  of  mining  regulation  can  be  beneficial  which  encourages  the  holding  of 
quartz  veins  without  even  the  pretence  of  developing  them.  Small  holdings  are  comuiend- 
abl*  in  the  youth  of  the  interest  provided  they  are  worked;  otherwise  they  are  a  positive 
injury,  and  a  drag  on  tke  wheels  of  development. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  legislation  can  meet  with  popular  approval,  nor  indeed  merits  an 
instant's  consideration,  which  does  not  include  some  plan  for  recognizing  the  services  of  the 
prospector.  Generally  poor,  they  incur  every  risk  and  privation  to  discover  the  location 
of  the  ore-bearing  veins.  Such  men  deserve  at  the  hands  of  a  just  and  parental  government 
a  treatment  commensurate  with  their  services.  The  rewards  of  mining  adventures  are  not 
so  numerous  nor  so  equally  distributed  as  to  justify  any  legislation  tending  tp,  cripple  the 
miner  or  to  diminish  prospecting. 

Too  little  legislation  i.s  fur  preferable  to  too  much,  and  until  the  present  congressional  law 


EAST  OF.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS  53 

be  tried  by  the  touchstone  of  practical  experience,  any  further  emendations  or  additions 
thereto  are  premature  and  pernicious.  The  leverage  possessed  by  capital  will,  of  itself,  exert 
a  sufficient  power  against  the  prospector,  without  the,  additional  impetus  of  hostile  legisla- 
tion. The  happy  mean  is  to  be  sought,  which,  \vhile  it  furthers  prospecting  and  encourages 
development,  does  not  bear  too  harshly  upon  the  miner,  and  while  it  recognizes  the  merits 
of  the  bona  fide  claim-holder,  does  not  screen  the  mere  speculator. 

It  may  be  objected  that  many  companies  formed  at  a  distance  from  Montana  are  possessed 
of  many  thousands  of  feet  of  quartz  claims  ;  this  may  readily  be  admitted,  and  still  they 
bear  the  seeds  of  their  own  ruin,  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  hold  too  many  feet,  too 
w'dety  separated  to  be  able  properly  to  open  any  pertion  of  them;  and  moreover  should  the 
company's  enterprise  disclose  a  valuable  body  of  ore,  they  find  themselves  in  possession  of  a 
contiguous  stretch  of  vein  too  small  to  more  than  meet  the  outlays,  when  a  larger  ownership 
would  have  insured  a  brilliant  profit.  They  find  it  further  to  be  impossible  to  purchase  the 
adjoining  claims,  whose  value  alone  is  due  to  their  own  labors. 

These  considerations  will  serve  to  account  for  the  comparatively  trifling  development  of 
the  quartz  interests  of  the  Territory.  Unlike  the  placers,  winter  offers  not  the  least  obstacle 
to  a  profitable  exploration  of  the  vein  mines ;  the  severity  of  the  season  rendering  work  in, 
the  open  air  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  redounds  only  to  the  interest  of  the  quartz  claims. 
Labor  having  no  other  field  of  employment  is  then  abundant  and  cheap,  and  while  the  sur- 
face is  wrapped  in  a  mantle  of  snow  and  ice,  the  miner,  under  ground  and  unexposed  to  the 
elements,  pursues  his  labors  in  an  equitable  and  agreeable  temperature. 

Many  of  the  best  Mines  of  the  world  are  in  countries  visited  with  winters  of  far  greater 
severity  than  those  of  Montana.  The  explorations  are  never  retarded  from  this  cause,  and 
except  as  a  source  of  physical  inconvenience  the  severity  of  the  weather  is  a  matter  of  very 
trifling  moment. 

As  the  fairest  exponents  of  the  mining  interests  of  Montana,  we  may  select  the  following 
examples.  Amongst  the  furthest  developed  and  longest  worked  gold  leads,  we  may  instance 
the  Oro  Cache,  near  Virginia  City,  and  the  Owyhee  or  Whitlatch  Uwion,  near  Helena 
City.  As  an  example  of  the  results  of  smelting,  we  have  the  case  of  the  furnaces  at  Argenta, 
near  Bannock ;  and  lastly  the  veins  west  of  the  range  in  Flint  creek  and  vicinity,  which 
have  recently  been  a  point  of  considerable  attraction  from  the  promise  of  an  abundance  of 
silver  ores  suitable  for  amalgamation. 

It  will  be  impossible  particularly  to  describe  all  or  even  any  considerable  proportion  of 
the  prospectively  valuable  vein  mines  of  the  Territory,  whose  future  developments  may 
change  their  present  relative  pre-eminence.  In  lieu  thereof,  I  have  selected  such  mines, 
works,  &c.,  as,  in  my  judgment,  best  exemplify  the  present  status  of  the  permanent  mining 
interests  of  the  Territory.  ^ 

The  Oro  Cache  lead  is  situated  in  the  Summit  district  of  Alder  gulch,  south  of  Virginia 
City.  It  was  discovered  as  early  as  1864,  and  work  was  began  thereon  December  1  of  the 
same  year.  The  vein  near  the  surface  had  a  width  of  two  feet,  which  gradually  increased 
as  the  shaft  was  extended  downwards.  The  average  width  is  about  HO  inches. 

The  surface  ores,  consisting  of  decomposed  quartz,  yielded  from  §75  to  $100  currency  per 
ton,  while  the  average  working-  yield  of  the  clean  ore  has  been  up  to  the  present  time  about 
$50  currency  per  ton. 

A  shaft  120  feet  in  depth  has  been  sunk  by  the  Montana  Gold  and  Silver  Mining  Company 
on  the  second  claim,  of  200  feet,  southwest  of  the  point  of  discovery,  and  ore  lias  been  extracted 
yielding  $50  currency  per  ton.  The  same  company  amalgamate  the  ores  iu  pans  4  feet  10 
inches  in  diameter,  in  which  revolve  two  wheels,  weighing  two  tons  each.  This  method  is 
said  to  be  very  effective  in  the  reduction  of  the  gold-bearing  sulphurets.  In  the  same  district 
we  find  quite  a  number  of  promising  qiiartz  lodes,  and  four  mil]  in  or  near  Summit  City. 

The  Whitlatch  ynion,  sometimes  called  Owyhee  lead,  is  situated  south  of  Helena  City, 
and  on  the  divide  between  Oro  Fino  and  Grizzly  gulches.  The  lead  was  discovered  during 
the  winter  of  1864,  and  wcwk  was  begun  in  the  succeeding  spring.  As  this  lode,  up 
to  the  present  time,  has  yielded  a  greater  amount  of  bullion  than  any  other  in  tile  Territory, 
it  cannot  be  considered  invidious  to  bestow  upon  it  more  than  passing  mention  and  descrip- 
tion. This  vein  has  given  employment  to  two  proprietary  and  two  custom  mills.  Near  the 
developed  portion  of  the  lead  there  has  sprung  up  a  flourishing  mining  town,  known  as 
Unionville  or  Kbsevelt,  the  former  appellation  meeting  with  the  more  general  acceptance. 
The  country  rock  is  granite,  the  micaceous  component  of  which  appears  in  the  form  of  black 
scales.  Near  the  surface  the  vein  was  broken  in  many  places,  running  flat,  and  very  irregu- 
larly. At  the  lowest  points  reached  by  the  National  Mining-  and  Exploring  Company  of  New 
York  and  the  Whitlatch  Union  Mining  Company  of  Helena,  the  vein,  carrying  a  secies  of 
quartz  differing  somewhat  from  that  near  the  surface,  seems  to  have  taken  its  true  dip  and 
direction.  The  width  of  the  vein  is  variable  from  20  inches  to  5  or  6  feet,  and  at  times 
widening  out  much  further.  The  yield  of  the  properly-cleaned  rock  averages  between  $50 
and  $60  per  ton.  The  mean  yield  of  the  entire  vein  mass,  has,  however,  run  as  high  as  $25 
to  $30  per  ton. 

The  custom  mills  have  taken  the  ore  from  the  dump,  and  have  crushed  and  amalgamated 
the  same,  according  to  the  contracts,  either  for  one-half  the  gross  product  in  one  mill  or  for 
$11  per  ton  in  another.  Captain  W.  W.  De  Lacy,  who  has  made  the  survey  of  the  lead,  in 


54  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND,  TERRITORIES 

accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  congressional  mining  law,  gives  the  direction  of  the 
vein  south  84°  24'  east.  Adjoining  one  another  on  the  lead  are  tour  different  ownerships, 
viz:  the  Whitlatch  Union  Mining  Company,  the  I.  X.  L.  Mining  Company,  the  National 
Mining  and  Exploring  Company,  and  the  Philadelphia  Enterprise  Company;  of  which  the 
first  is  the  only  company  possessing  a  Contiguous  holding  of  500  feet. 

ARGENTA  SMELTING  WORKS.  —  These  works  were  constructed  by  theSt  Louis  and  Mon- 
tana Mining  Company,  under  the  direction  and  personal  supervision  of  Aug.  Steitz,  mining 
engineer,  who  unfortunately  fell  seriously  ill  very  soon  after  their  completion.  They  con- 
sist of  one  German  double-cupola  furnace,  which  is  used  for  smelting  the  ore  with  appro- 
priate fluxes,  after  it  has  been  subjected  to  a  calcination  as  thorough  as  possible  in  heaps  or 
open  hearths  ;  also  a  large  German  cupelling  furnace,  capable  of  holding  at  once  a  charge 
of  five  tons  of  rich  lead,  and  so  constructed  as  to  admit  of  after  charges  to  the  total  amount 
of  10  or  more  tons..  The  weight  of  the  charge  must  be  regulated  according  to  the  percentage 
of  silver  contained  in  the  lead.  Two  fans,  cased  in  wooden  housings,  and  driven  by  a  small 
steam  engine,  furnish  a  supply  of  air  for  the  blast  of  the  cupola  and  cupellatiou  hearth. 
Each  of  these  fans  is  about  four  feet  in  diameter ;  either  of  which,  alone,  is  amply  sufficient, 
but  two  have  been  constructed,  to  guard  against  the  accidental  breaking  of  the  one  or  the 
other.  The  capacity  of  the  furnace  is,  according  to  the  ore,  from  two  to  five  tons  per  day  of 
24  hours.  The  ores  smelted,  chiefly  from  the  Legal-Tender  lode,  consist  of  carbonates  and 
oxides  of  lead,  and  sulphurets  of  lead,  or  galenas. 

The  rich  lead  is  tapped  into  an  exterior  basin  as  often  as  a  sufficient  quantity  has  been 
reduced  from  the  ore  to  fill  the  furnace  to  the  level  of  the  forehearth,  »nd  has  contained  from 
$200  to  $750  per  ton — the  last  amount  having  been  produced  from  a  few  tons  of  choice  ore 
smelted  under  my  direction  in  June  last. 

Besides  the  Argenta  furnaces,  we  have  near  Bannock  a  lead  furnace  and  cupellation  hearth, 
recently  constructed,  for  reducing  the  ores  from  the  Huron  district ;  also,  a  second  small  fur- 
nace on  the  road  between  Argenta  and  Bannock.  Further,  there  has  been  in  operation,  near 
Butte  City,  Deer  Lodge  county,  a  small  furnace  to  test  the  copper-bearing  ores  of  tbat  vicin- 
ity. There  is  now  building^  and  will  shortly  be  in  operation,  an  American  hearth  to  smelt 
the  ores  of  the  Gregory  lode,  situated  near  Jefferson  City,  in  the  county  of  Edgerton.  And 
lastly,  the  quar-tz  mines  of  Flint  Creek  district.  These  leads  are  situated  in  Deer  Lodge 
county,  west  of  the  main  range,  on  an  arm  of  Flint  creek,  25  miles  from  its  point  of  junc- 
tion with  the  Hell  Gate  river. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  mines  there  has  sprung  up  quite  an  extensive  town,  called  Phillips- 
burg.  The  district  was  discovered  in  December,  1864,  by  a  prospector  named  Horton,  while 
on  a  hunting  excursion.  Locations  were  made  by  him  in  the  following  May,  and  the  dis- 
trict has  received  the  name  of  the  discoverer.  Little  was  done  until  the  piesent  year,  when 
a  St.  Louis  company  began  ?he  erection  of  a  mill,  with  the  appliances  for  amalgamating  sil- 
ver ores,  ordered  specially  from  California  The  locality,  thus  called  prominently  into  notice, 
has  been  covered  with  a  perfect  forest  of  stakes,  and  every  projecting  rock  has  been  located 
and  recorded  as  a  quartz  lead.  No  bullion  has  been  as  yet  produced  other  than  a  few  small 
ingots  of  silver,  the  yield  of  an  arrastra.  The  ores  are  generally  of  such  a  character  as  per- 
mit of  reduction  by  amalgamation.  Several  of  the  principal  lodes  will,  it  is  believed,  return 
very  large  amounts  of  silver  bullion. 

COPPER. — Beside  the  small  amount  of  copper  regulus  arid  black  copper  yielded  by  the 
experimental  smejting  furnace  near  Butte  City,  a  considerable  shipment  of  copper  ores  has 
been  made  from  the  mines  at  the  head  of  the  Musclesliell  river.  These  properties,  owned  by 
capitalists  of  St.  Louis,  carry  carbonates,  oxides  and  silicates  of  copper,  that  is,  the  accus- 
tomed surface  ores,  while  at  greater  depths  will  be  found  the  usual  yellow  sulphurets.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  permissible  to  state  that  a  postal  route  has  been  established  from 
Helena  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  along  the  Muscleshell  river  and  past  the,se  mines.  Efforts 
are  now  making  to  divert  the  carriage  of  freight  from  Fort  Benton  to  a  point  at  the  mouth 
of  this  river.  Steamers  can  reach  the  latter  point  so  long  as  the  river  is  not  impeded  by  ice, 
while  the  former  is  accessible  only  during  the  time  of  the  continuance  of  the  increment  from 
the  melting  snows.  It  is  claimed  that,  though  GO  miles  longer,  the  route  is  better,  and  it 
certainly  cuts  off  some  400  miles  of  the  worst  portion  of  the  river  navigation,  and  that,  too, 
through  a  region  almost  totally. destitute  of  timber. 

Should  these  mines  prove  of  value,  this  route  would  offer  for  the  copper  ores  a  cheap  and 
expeditious  means  of  transport  to  a  market. 

COAL.— Montana,  contains  within  her  limits  a  large  extent  of  valuable  coal  deposits.  This 
"portable  climate  of  civilization  "is  of  the  bituminous  variety,  and  is  referable  to  the  creta- 
ceous or  tertiary  age.  This  fact  serves  to  corroborate  the  truth  of  the  enunciation  of  Professor 
Whitney,  of  California,  that  the  widest  deposition  of  carbonaceous  matters  took  place  sub- 
sequently to  the  period  heretofore  denominated  by  geologists  the  coal  period  par  excellence. 
The  statements  of  Dr.  Newberry  in  regard  to  the  coal  fields  of  China;  the  age  of  the  beds 
in  California  and  Nevada;  the  discoveries  of  Aug.  Remond  in  Chili  during  the  past  year, 
and  the  localities  examined  by  this  gentleman  and  myself  in  the  State  of  Sonora,  Mex 
ico,  in  the  summer  of  1804,  all  tend,  in  like  manner,  to  a  complete  confirmation  of  that 
theory. 
Of  the  many  localities  where  traces  of  coal  fire  to  be  found,  and  where  beyond  a  doubt 


EAST  OF  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  55 

profitable  beds  may  be  met  with,  but  one  has  been  worked  to  any  considerable  extent,  viz: 
on  the  Missouri  river,  some  110  miles  below  Fort  Benton. 

During  the  past  winter  several  miners  undertook  to  explore  the  coal  seams  with  a  view 
of  supplying1  the  steamers  navigating  the  river.  Having  been  tried  under  the  boilers  of 
several  vessels  it  was  reported  to  have  been  efficacious  in  some  instances  and  worthless  in 
others.  The  unfavorable  opinion  was  perhaps  owing  to  an  imperfect  separation  of  the  shale 
from  the  coal,  or  because  of  the  nonadaptation  of  the  grate  bars  to  the  new  fuel.  Precisely 
similar  results  followed  the  preliminary  trials  of  the  coals  from  the  Mount  Diablo  mines  of 
the  State  of  California.  A  larger  experience  has,  however,  approved  their  usefulness,  until 
at  present  they  form  the  sole  fuel  of  hundreds  of  stationary  engines,  and  are  likewise  used 
beneath  the  boilers  of  all  the  steamers  plying  upon  the  inland  waters  of  the  State.  An  exca- 
vation of  some  extent  has  likewise  been  made  on  a  coal  seam  situated  on  Grasshopper  creek, 
near  Bannock. 

COSTS  OF  MINING,  MILLING,  AND  SMELTING.—  It  is  impossible,  from  any  considerable 
number  of  actual  returns,  to  give  the  exact  average  of  the  costs  of  raising  and  reducing  the 
ores  of  the  Territory.  A  very  general  apathy  in  regard  to  the  importance  of  publishing  these 
data  seems  to  possess  the  directors  and  managers  of  the  mining  properties  of  Montana,  and 
but  few  responses  have  been  received  in  answer  to  my  printed  circular  soliciting  these  par- 
ticulars in  detail.  Hence  I  shall  be  obliged  to  make  estimates  founded  upon  my  own  observa- 
tions and  the  limited-number  of  returns  in  my  possession. 

The  prices  of  labor  in  Montana  range  from  $5  to  $10  currency  per  day.  Wood  costs, 
according  to  circumstances,  from  $3  to  $10  currency  pe'r  cord  delivered,  and  generally  $2  50 
currency  per  cord  cut  and  piled  at  the  place  of  felling.  Charcoal  ranges  from  33  cents  cur- 
rency to  40  <?ents  in  gold  per  bushel. 

The  lowest  cost  of  raising  the  ore  which  has  come  under  my  observation  must  be  credited 
to  the  Philadelphia  Enterprise  Company,  working  upon  a  portion  of  the  Whitlatch  Union 
lead,  near  Helena.  The  entire  outlay  debited  to  the  raising  of  1,300  tons  was  $3  36  cur- 
rency per  ton.  I  take  these  figures  from  the  accounts  of  the  superintendent,  kindly  sub- 
mitted to  my  inspection.  Again,  we  have  the  estimate  of  the  agent  of  the  Montana  Gold 
and  Silver  Mining  Company  of  Pennsylvania  with  regard  to  mining  and  delivering  the  ore 
from  the  U.  S.  Grant,  a  wide  lode  in  Summit  district,  near  Virginia  City.  By  means  of  the 
tunnel,  no\v  nearly  completed,  the  ore,  should  the  promises  of  the  surface  be  realized  at  that 
depth,  may  be  mined  and  delivered  at  $4  currency  per  ton.  In  this  connection  it  may  be 
stated  that  all  veins  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  be  worked  by  tunnel  and  tramway,  can  fur- 
nish ore  at  a  very  much  smaller  cost  than  such  as  require  the  use  of  shafts  and  hoisting 
apparatus.  The  necessity  for  pumping  large  amounts  of  water  —  a  very  material  item  of 
expense  in  deep  mines  —  need  not  yet  be  taken  into  consideration  regarding  the  mines  of  Mon- 
tana. A  reasonably  wide  vein  under  ordinary  circumstances  ought  to  be  mined  and  laid 
upon  the  surface  at  a  cost  of  from  $5  to  $8  per  ton. 

M[I.LING.  —  The  Turnley  and  Hendrie  mills,  south  of  Helena,  have  crushed  large  amounts 
of  gold  quartz  from  the  Whitlatch  Union  and  Park  lodes  at  from  $11  to  §12  per  ton. 


It  is  but  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  custom  mills  have  been  able,  at  these  figures,  to 
return  a  profit  ;  hence,  under  ordinarily  favoring  circumstances  and  judicious  management, 
$15  per  ton  will  cover  all  expense  and  yield  a  considerable  profit;  while  a  working  yield  of 
$.20  to  $25  in  free  gold  will  return  cent  per  cent,  on  the  requisite  outlays. 

SMELTING.  —  We  have  but  one  example  of  this  method  of  reduction  on.  a  large  scale,  via  : 
the  works  of  the  St.  Louis  Company,  at  Argenta,  Beaverhead  county.  It  would  be  doing 
injustice  to  what  may  yet  prove  an  important  interest  to  assert  that  argentiferous  galenas 
cannot  be  profitably  reduced  in  Montana.  It  is  but  proper  to  enumerate  the  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  inaugurating  new  methods  in  a  new  country.  Skilled  smelters  are  almost  if  pot 
quite  unattainable  ;  and  such  as  offer  themselves  demand  and  receive  very  high  rates  of  com- 
pensation. Charcoal  is  expensive,  and  it  has  not  yet  been  proven  whether  the  coals  of  the 
country  are  suitable  for  smelting  purposes  or  not;  and  if  so,  whether  they  are  to  be  found 
sufficiently  near  to  the  districts  producing  galenas  and  copper  ores,  which  can  only  be 
reduced  by  smelting.  Thus  much,  however,  is  certain  —  the  amalgamation  is  more  expedi- 
tious and  far  cheaper  ;  the.  one  performs  most  of  the  Mabor  by  machinery,  that  is,  is  tho- 
roughly in  consonance  with  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  people  ;  the  other  necessitates  repeated 
handlings  and  much  manual  labor,  and  hence  its  greater  expensiveness.  As  the  country 
becomes  better  settled,  with  lower  rates  of  wages  and  diminished  cost  of  food  and  materials, 
smelting  may  possibly  compete  with  the  amalgamation.  While  fully  acknowledging  the 
statements  of  its  advocates  in  claiming  a  more  thorough  extraction  of  the  precious  metals, 
candor  compels  an  assent  to  its  greater  costliness.  Ores  containing  less  than  $100  per  ton 
cannot,  in  my  judgment,  be  at  present  smelted  with  a  profit.  With  water  power  to  drive 
the  mechanism  for  furnishing  a  blast  —  be  it  bellows,  fans,  or  cylinders  —  and  with  a  suffi- 
ciency of  suitable  ores  and  abundant  timber  near  to  the  works,  smelting  may  be  done  at  the 
present  time  at  a  cost  of  $60  to  $80  per  ton. 

OTHER  RESOURCES.  —  The  future  prosperity  of  Montana  is  by  no  means  dependent  upon 
the  precious  metals  alone.  She  has  other  and  prolific  sources  of  wealth,  among  which  we 
may  mention  the  following,  now  awaiting  exploration  and  development  : 

Large  masses  of  fire  clay  occur  in  the  coal  measures,  which  cannot  fail  to  be  of  permanent 


56  .RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

usefulness  should  smelting  ores  be  found  in  sufficient  abundance.  Iron  ores  and  plumbago 
are  known  to  exist. 

Moss  agates  are  found  in  several  localities,  some  of  which  show  most  curious  and  beauti- 
ful markings.  Very  fine  specimens  of  the  common  garnet' occur  in  a  vein-like  dike  near 
Summit  City,  near  Virginia.  True  sapphires  and  one  or  two  diamonds  are  said  £o  have  been 
found  on  El  Dorado  bar,  near  the  Missouri  river. 

Argilaceous  sandstones  and  marbles  fit  for  building  purposes  arc  of  quite  common  occur- 
rence. Near  the  mouth  of  the  Beaver  Head  canon  is  already  established  a  manufactory  of 
grindstones. 

CONCLUSION. — Such,  briefly  sketched,  is  the  present  status  of  the  mineral  industries  of 
the  Territory  of  Montana.  The  developments  already  made  are,  considering  the  youth  of 
the  interest,  most  satisfactory,  and  as  furnishing  an  earnest  for  the  future  cannot  but  prove 
encouraging  to  every  promoter  of  legitimate  enterprise. 

A  better  appreciation  of  the  rewards  and  risks  of  mining  undertakings  cannot  fail  to 
advance  the  well-being  of  the  industry,  at  the  same  time  that  it  militates  against  purely 
speculative  adventures. 

That  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  mines,  selected  with  judgmetit  and  under  an  honorable 
a»d  experienced  superintendence,  are  not  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  vague  possibilities, 
which  can  neither  be  estimated  nor  foreseen,  let  us  compare  the  returns  derived  from  rail- 
ways, canals,  water-works,  gas,  dock  and  laud  companies,  with  those  derived  from  mines — 
all  held  in  the  city  of  London.*  It  was  found  that  the  yield  from  the  former  species  of 
investments  equalled  3-|  per  cent,  on  the  average  selling  price,  while  that  from  the  latter, 
based  upon  the  350  mines  in  the  mining  share  list,  including  lead,  copper,  and  tin,  made  an 
annual  dividend  of  13.^  per  cent.  If,  now,  the  mininp  adventures  of  English  capitalists  are, 
on  the  average,  more  than 'three  times  as  productive  as  any  of  the  aforementioned  invest- 
ments, Avhile  those  in  the  hands  of  American  owners  have,  though  far  richer,  so  often  failed 
to  cover  even  the  ordinary  running  expenses — if  this  be  the  case,  it  behooves  one  to  investi- 
gate the  causes  of  and  to  seek  the  remedy  for  so  marked  a  difference. 

The  chief  source  of  this  most  deplorable  result  lies  in  the  supposed  necessity  of  mystery 
in  regard  to  costs,  yields,  &c.  Until  mine  and  mill  owners  can  be  made  to  understand  the 
usefulness  to  themselves  of  comparative  data  as  well  as  the  benefit  to  the  interest  at  large,  it 
will.be  hopeless  to  expect  that  the  great  body  of  the  community  will  be  able  to  discriminate 
between  reasonable  and  unreasonable  undertakings.  All  persons  engaged  in  mining,  as  a 
legitimate  pursuit,  should  contribute  to  dispel  this  ignorance,  for  the  reason  that  every  dollar 
lavished  on  mere  speculation  is  not  only  so  much  withdrawn  from  actual  production,  but  also 
reacts  unfavorably  on  further  investments. 

Montana  has,  up  to  the  present  time,  been  comparatively  free  from  purely  speculative 
schemes. 

The  main  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  success  of  those  mines  which  are  held  by  non-resi- 
dent owners  has  been,  as  already  stated,  the  diffusion  of  their  energies  over  too  wide  a  field 
and'the  injudicious  selection  of  small  segregated  hoFdings. 

These  errors  of  the  past  may  be  easily  avoided  in  the  future,  and  companies  using  proper 
precautions  in  selecting  and  due  diligence  in  opening  their  mines  before  purchasing  or  erect- 
ing machinery  of  any  kind,  can  hardly  fail  to  meet  with  most  remunerative  returns. 

Montana  need  not  blush  to  compare  her  treasures  of  the  precious  and  tiseful  minerals  with 
those  of  any  other  section.  She  has  within  her  limits  as  great  a  variety  of  metalliferous  veins 
as  any  single  State  or  Territory.  Veins  bearing  free  gold  and  amalgable  silver  ores  are  those 
immediately  available,  while  argentiferous  galenas,  copper  ores,  and  coals  will,  at  some  future 
day,  afford  an  exhaustless  field  for  permanent  and  profitable  investment,  particularly  when 
the  Northern  Pacific  railroad  shall  have  facilitated  communication  and  diminished  the  out- 
lays for  freight 


SECTION    IV. 

GOLD  AND  COAL  MINES  OF  NOVA  SCOTIA. 

HALIFAX,  NOVA  SCOTIA,  January  1,  l-(h\ 

SIR  :  I  beg  leave  to  offer  the  following  statements  and  observations  relative  to  the  mines 
and  mineral  resources  of  Nova  Scotia,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  considered  worth  being 
embodied  in  the  report  which.,  I  have  understood,  you  are  preparing  upon  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  United  States  and  British  provinces  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Mines  are  officially  classified  in  Nova  Scotia  as  "goldmines"  and  "mines  other  than 
gold."  I  shall  observe  the  same  classification  in  treating  of  them  and  the  minerals  which 
they  develop.  In  the  course  of  the  following  remarks  I  trust  that,  to  relieve  myself  from 
again  going  over  ground  which  I  have  previously  trodden — some  of  it  several  times — I 

London  Mining  Journal,  August  11,  16CG. 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  57 

be  pardoned  for  occasionally  making  extracts  from  farmer  papers  of  mine  upon  the  same 
subject,  and  from  official  reports  prepared  by  me,  during  the  past  four  years,  as  gold  com- 
missioner and  chief  commissioner  of  mines.  First,  then,  as  to  gold  mines. 

Gold-bearing,  geological  formations,  form  a  large  portion  of  the  surface  of  Nova  Scotia. 
To  indicate  their  character  and  extent  I  will  make  an  extract,  brief,  indeed,  but  sufficient,  I 
trust,  for  our  present  purpose,,  from  a  paper  prepared  and  read  by  me  before  the  "Nova  Sco- 
tia Institute  of  National  Science,''  on  the  6th  of  February,  1886  : 

The  outlines  of  the  well-marked  geological  district  which  comprises  the  gold  fields  of  Nova  Scotia,  are 
already  pretty  generally  known.  I  will  only  briefly  state  that  they  mainly  consist  of  two  distinct  districts 
of  different  geological  ages.  We  have  upon  the  Atlantic  coast  the  Loyrcr  Silurian  rocks,  forming  a  band 
which  extends  the  whole  length  of  the  Xova  Scotian  peninsula.  This  district  is  not  less  than  50  miles  in, 
width  at  its  western  extremity,  gradually  narrowing  as  it  proceeds  eastward,  and  finally  coming  almost  to 
a  point  at  Cape  Canso.  The  other  district,  the  Devonian  and  Upper  Silurian,  forms  several  comparatively 
lofty  and  isolated  ridges.  One  of  these  extends  from  Digby  county,  along  the  south  side  of  the  Annapolis 
valley,  to  the  vicinity  of  Windsor.  Another  commences  at  Cape  Chicgnccto,  forms  the  Cobequidhkls,  and, 
with  a  slight  divergence  from  its  original  course,  proceeds  eastward  to  the  Strait  of  Canso,  throwing  off 
spurs  northeastward  to  the  Guff  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  southwestward  on  both  sides  of  the  Stewiacke  river. 
In  the  island  of  Capo  Breton,  nearly  the  whole  of  Victoria  county,  a  large  portion  of  Inverness,  and  several 
detached  eminences  in  Cape  Breton  and  Richmond  counties,  belong  to  the  same  formation.  Among  the 
gold-bearing  formations  of  this  province  I  might  also  include  the  Trap  ridges,  considerable  as  to  extent,  for 
auriferous  quartz  lias  been  discovered  and  to  some  slight  extent  mined  in  flip  Trappean  headlanda  of  Part- 
ridge island  and  Cape  D'Or ;  but  I  will  leave  this  geological  district  out  of  further  consideration. 

The  extent  of  the  two  larger  districts  which  I  have  indicated,  comprises,  in  the  aggregate,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  surface  of  Xova  Scotia.  I  would  roughly  estimate  the  area  of  the  Lo\ver  Silurian  district  at 
7,000  square  miles,  and  of  the  several  tracts  of  the  more  recent  formation  at  3,000,  in  all  10,000  square 
miles.  The  whole  area  of  the  province  amounts  to  about  18,600  square  miles.  It  must  not  be  assumed  that 
this  large  area  is  throughout  auriferous.'  I  will  observe,  parenthetically,  that,  judging  from  what  is  already 
kuown,"thcre  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  future  explorations  Avill  prove  the  greater  part  of  this  area  to 
be  rich  in  metalliferous  deposits  of  some  kind. 

As  to  gold  I  will  begin  with  the  Devonian  district.  The  several  ridges  of  highlands  which  come  under 
this  denomination  have,  as  yet,  been  but  little  explored  for  gold  ;  nor  is  it  probable  that  they  will  be,  to  any 
great  extent,  for  some  time  to  come.  These  hills  are,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  interior  of  the  country. 
Their  rocks  arc  rarely  exposed,  being  covered  with  a  pretty  deep  soil  from  which  has  arisen  a  heavy  growth 
of  timber.  Gold  has  been  found  in  the  alluvium  brought  down  by  many  streams  which  take  their  rise  in 
these  hills.  It  has  seldom  been  discovered,  as  yet,  in  quartz  in  situ,  but,  for  the  reasons  just  referred  to, 
quartz  in  situ  has  seldom,  been  seen  in  this  geological  district.  In  Wagainatkook,  which  is  a  proclaimed 
gold  district,  about  the  head  waters  of  the  river  of  the  same  name,  in  Victoria  county,  quartz  lias  been 
mined  to  some  small  extent.  The  little  done  hero  in  this  way  did  not  afford  as  good  promise  of  profit  as  lias 
been  met  with  in  quartz  mining  elsewhere  in  the  province,  but  it  cannot  be  considered  a  fair  test  of  the 
productiveness  of  the  district.  Most  of  the  gold  obtained  at  Wagamatkook  has  been  taken  from  the  beds 
of  streams  which  flo\v  down  from  the  hills,  and  the  quantity  thus  procured  indicates  the  presence  of  numer- 
ous auriferous  quartz  veins  in  the  vicinity.  Gold  has  been  discovered  in  the  sands  of  nearly  all,  if  not  all, 
the  streams  of  Victoria  and  Inverness,  which  take  their  rise  in  these  mctamorphic  hills.  It  has  also  been 
found  in  the  same  formation  at  Cape  Porcupine,  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Musquodoboit  and  the  Stewi- 
acke, and,  I  believe,  at  Five  Islands  and  elsewhere,  so  that  gold  may  be  sought  for,  with  not  unreasonable 
expectations  of  success,  in  any  part  of  this  geological  district. 

We  have  more  reliable  dataV.s  to  the  auriferous  character  of  the  better  known  Lower  Silurian  coast  band. 
We  know  that  in  the  Lower  Silurian  district  there  are  found  bauds  of  quartzite  seemingly  nearly  parallel 
with  each  other,  alternating  with  various  slates,  extending  in  a  general  easterly  and  westerly  direction. 
These  bands  arc  intersected  by  various  masses  of  granite,  in  some  places  extending  quite  across  the  whole 
formation,  but  more  frequently  forming  detached  masses,  protruding  through,  and  surrounded  by,  the  strati- 
lied  rocks  just  named.  In  this  quartzito,  and,  in  a  less  degree,  in  some  of  the  slates,  we  find  numerous 
veins  of  quartz ;  and  these  veins,  especially  those  of  the  quartzite,  we  find  to  1)0  auriferous.  Of  the  num- 
ber of  the  quartzite  bands,  and  of  the  latitudinal  extent  of  each,  little  is  yet  known.  From  a  general 
acquaintance  with  the  country,  and  not  from  actual  survey,  I  am  inclined  to  "the  belief  that,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, they  form  the  largest  portion  of  the  width,  superficially,  of  this  metamorphic  district  skirting  the 
Atlantic. 

Longitudinally  this  quartzite,  with  its  auriferous  quartz  veins,  can,  except  when  interruptions  are  caused 
by  the" granite  dikes  already  mentioned,  be  traced  the  whole  length  of  the  Nova  Scotiau  peninsula.  Gold 
has  been  taken  from  quartz  veins  at  Yarmouth  and  on  the  shore  of  Chedabucto  bay,'  and,  I  might  add,  at 
every  intermediate  point  where  diligent  search  has  been  made  for  it  in  the  proper  formation.  The  quantity 
of  quartz  embraced  in  this  great  length  and  breadth  of  quartzite  veinstone  must  be  something  enormous. 
I  speak  of  it  in  comparison  with  the  bulk  of  the  enclosing  rock.  Of  course  we  have  no  sufficient  data  from 
which  to  estimate  this  quantity.  The  opinion  I  have  just  hazarded  is  based  upon  observations  of  the  cross  • 
cuttings  in  the  rock  yet  made  in  the  few  localities  of  this  province  where  gold  mining  is  yet  carried  on,  and 
these  openings  have  in  many,  I  believe  I  might  say  in  most  instances,  been  made  at  mere  hap-hazard.  Oil 
one  occasion"!  myself  removed  carefully  the  drift,  so  as  to  expose  a  cross  section  of  the  surface  merely  of 
the  bed-rock,  for  "a,  distance  of  about  160  feet.  Within  that  distance  I  discovered  over  30  quartz  veins  rang- 
ing from  an  inch  to  15  inches  in  thickness.  The  whole  number  of  veins  would  average  not  less  than  six 
inches,  or  say  15  feet  in  all,  thickness  of  quartz  in  160  feet  of  enclosing  rock,  the  dip  being  here  nearly  ver- 
tical. In  another  instance,  after  counting  and  measuring  the  quartz  veins  exposed  within  a  distance  of  250 
feet,  I  estimated  their  aggregate  thickness  at  25  feet ;  and  yet,  as  within  a  part  of  the  distance  of  250  feet 
there  was  no  exposure  of  the  bed-rock,  the  actual  thickness  of  this  quartz  may  hare  been  considerably 
greater  than  what  I  hav6  stated.  In  both  of  these  cases  the  quartz  veins  exposed,  or  the  greater  number 
of  them,  were  known  to  bo  auriferous  from  examination  made  at  the  several  spots  where  laid  bare.  In 
other  localities  quartz  veins  of  5,  10,  and  even  up  to  30  feet  in  thickness,  are  found,  but  I  will  not  multiply 
instances.  Those  which  I  have  specified  do  not,  I  think,  exhibit  a  much  greater  thickness  of  quartz  in  pro- 
portion to  that  of  the  enclosing  rock  than  will  be  found  generally  throughout  these  quartzite  bands. 

Such  is,  in  brief,  a  description  of  the  auriferous  districts  of  Nova  Scotia.  As  to  the  most 
important  of  these,  economically  speaking,  viz  :  the  Lower  Silurian,  the  operations  being1 
carried  on  throughout  its  whole  extent  are  almost  exclusively  those  of  quartz  mining. 
Owing  to  the  conformation  of  the  country,  no  part  of  this  district  being  estimated  to  attain 
a  greater  elevation  than  500  feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  whole  of  it  lying  in  immediate 
propinquity  to  the  sea,  the  deposits  of  auriferous  diluvium  and  alluvium  to  be  found  iii  the 


58  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND   TERRITORIES 

more  mountainous  and  inland  gold-fields  west  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  in  Australia 
and  elsewhere,  are  few  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  »f  very  limited  extent.  Following  what  seems 
to  have  been  the  course  of  the  current  which  has  produced  a  partial  denudation  of  the  rocks 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  band,  the  disintegrated  rock  thus  set  free  has  been  swept  into  the 
Atlantic.  Accordingly  we  find  that  at  most  points  along  that  coast,  where  anything  like  a 
thorough  examination  is  practicable,  the  sands'of  the  shore  contain  a  greater  or  less  propor- 
tion of  gold.  The  same  remark  applies  to  Sable  island,  off  the  eastern  coast  of  Nova  Scotia. 
This  island  consists  altogether  of  sand  into  the  composition  of  which  gold  enters  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  is  believed,"  by  those  who  have  experimented  in  the  matter,  that  gold  washing 
on  a  large  scale  could  here  be  carried  on  at  a  handsome  profit. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  this  Lower  Silurian  district  embraces  a  number  of  quartzite 
bands  maintaining  an  easterly  and  westerly  course.  It  must  be  added  that  each  of  these 
quartzite  bands  represents  a  distinct  line  of  upheaval,  and  has  its  anticlinal  axis.  Conse- 
quently a  section  crossing  the  whole  district  at  right  angles  with  the  coast  line,  would  rep- 
resent a  series  of  undulations  of  strata.  The  quartz  veins,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  beds, 
•have  generally  the  same  strike  and  dip  as  the  strata  enclosing  them.  "Cross  leads,"  as 
they  are  called  by  the  miners,  or  veins  cutting  the  strata  transversely,  are  of  not  unirequent 
occurrence  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are  found  to  be  comparatively  unproductive  in  gold.  I 
shall  presently  have  to  notice  some  exceptions  to  this. 

The  conditions  under  which  gold  is  found  in  these  quartz  lodes  are  extremely  varied.  In 
many  instances,  probably  in  a  majority  of  cases  yet  observed,  the  lode  itself  lias  a  casing  of 
dark-blue  clay  slate,  or  talcose  slate,  on  one  side,  or  both,  but  more  frequently  the  former. 
In  other  cases  nothing  intervenes  between  the  quartz  vein  and  the  enclosing  quartzite  rock. 
In  some  instances  the  lode  consists  more  of  slate  than  of  quartz  ;  and,  frequently,  both  in 
this  case  and  in  that  of  the  slaty  casing  just  mentioned,  the  slate  itself  is  found  to  be  as  pro- 
fusely impregnated  with  gold  as  even  the  quartz  is.  Sometimes  a  quartz  load  is  of  a  snowy 
whiteness  throughout,  interspersed  with  gold  of  perfect  purity  unassociated  with  any  other 
mineral ;  but  more  frequently  these  lodes  are  highly  mineralized,  mispickel  or  arsenical 
pyrites,  zinc  blende,  and  oxides  of  iron,  being  the  prevalent  associated  minerals,  the  first 
named  pre-eminently  so.  Throughout  the  Nova  Scotia  mines  the  gold,  as  taken  from  its 
matrix,  is,  when  compared  with  the  immediate  product  of  other  mines  in  the  world,  of  unsur- 
passed if  not  unsurpassable  purity.  Owing  in  part  to  this  fact  the  treating  of  21111  if erous  ores 
to  extract  the  gold  from  them  is  beset  with  comparatively  few  difficulties  in  Nova  Scotia. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  Nova  Scotia  was  a  very  remarkable  incident ;  remarkable,  not 
because  gold  was  actually  discovered,  but  because  it  was  not  discovered  at  a  much  earlier 
period  in  the  political  history  of  this  country.  This  fact  becomes  particularly  striking  when 
we  remember  that  gold  was  a  special  object  of  inquiry  among  the  eatlier  European  navi- 
gators who  visited  our  shores  :  that  Nova  Scotia  is  the  site  of  the  oldest  European  settle- 
ment in  America  north  of  Florida ;  and  that  the  auriferous  rocks,  composing  so  large  a  pro- 
portion of  the  surface  of  the  whole  country,  crop  out  upon  its  surface,  and  are  found  to 
exhibit  gold  at  the  surface  of  the  outcrop  at  almost  innumerable  localities.  As  to  when  and 
by  whom  it  was  first  discovered  there  is  a  diversity  of  legends  and  some  disputes.  At  all 
events,  the  first  unmistakable  discoveries,  which  the  public  felt  bound  to  take  notice  of,  are 
thus  described  in  the  gold  commissioner's  first  annual  report— that  for  1862 : 

The  earliest  discovery  of  gold  in  the  province,  made  known  to  the  public,  occurred  during  the  summer  of 
I860,  at  a  spot  about  12  [it  is  less  than  10]  miles  north  from  the  head  of  Tangier  harbor,  on  the  northeast 
branch  of  the  Tangier  river.  The  discoverer,  John  Pulsifcr,  of  Musquodoboit,  was  induced,  from  what  he 
had  heard  of  the  gold-bearing  quartz  of  California,  to  search  for  the  same  substance  amongst  the  rocks  on 
the  upper  waters  of  tho  Tangier  river ;  and,  while  in  company  with  some  Indians  -whom  ho  had  hired,  Mr. 
Pulsifer  found  several  pieces  of  gold  in  quartz,  in  a  brook  at  a  place  now  known  as  the  Mooscland  diggings, 
or,  more  frequently,  Old  Tangier,  owing  to  this  circumstance.  This  discovery  being  known  a  number  of 
pereous  gathered  to  the  spot  from  various  parts  of  the  province,  during  tho  summer  and  tho  succeeding 
autumn,  for  the  purpose  ox  prospecting. 

In  the  month  of  October,  of  the  same  year,  Peter  Mason,  a  fisherman  and  landowner  near  the  head  of 
Tangier  harbor,  was  passing  through  the  woods  about  half  a  mile  from  his  own  residence  and  on  his  own 
land  ;  he  stooped  to  drink  at  a  small  brook,  noticed  a  particle  of  shining  yellow  metal  in  a,  piece  of  quart/ 
which  was  there  very  abundant,  and  having  picked  it  up  and  examined  it  he  concluded,  from  what  he  had 
heard  of  the  discovery  of  gold  up  the  river,  that  he  also  had  found  the  precious  metal.  Upon  this  fact 
becoming  known  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  vicinity  of  Tangier  nocked  to  the  locality  and  com- 
menced a  search  for  tho  supposed  source  from  which  the  specimen  had  been  derived. 

The  public  attention  was  now  fully  aroused,  and  with  the  opening  of  the  following  spring, 
that  of  J8G1,  gold  mining  in  a  rude  way  was  commenced  at  Tangier,  for  the  regulation  of 
which  and  tke  appropriation  of  land  for  mining  purposes,  the  provincial  government  found 
it  necessary  to  frame  certain  "  orders  in  council."  Explorations  were  also  .prosecuted  with 
vigor  both  at  Tangier  and  elsewhere  in  the  coast  band  of  metamorphic  rocks.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  during  the  ensuing  summer  promising  discoveries  of  gold  were  made  at  tho 
Ovens,  in  Luuenburg  county ;  Lawrencetown,  Waverley,  and  Oldham,  in  Halifax  county; 
Renfrew,  in  Hants  county;  Sherbrooke,  Wine  Harbor,  and  Isaac's  Harbor,  in  Greysborough 
county,  and  elsewhere.  These  places  still  comprise  the  greater  number  of  the,  as  yet  known, 
most  productive  gold  districts  of  the  province.  Of  the  others  which  have  become  particu- 
larly noted,  Montagu,  about  six  miles  from.  Halifax,  in  the  county  of  the  same  name,  was 
discovered  in  the  spring  of  1863 ;  Wagamatkook,  in  Victoria  county,  in  the  summer  of  the 
same  year ;  and  Uniacke,  Hants  county,  in  1865. 


EAST    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  5 

As  one  of  the  best  modes- of  illustrating  the  character  and  exhibiting  the  progress  of  gold 
mining  in  Nova  Scotia,  it  may  be  well  to  give  a  few  sentences  to  each  of  these  districts, 
taking  them  separately.  To  begin  at  the  most  western,  thon,  the  Ovens  are  so  called  from 
the  shapes  of  a  succession  of  caverns  which,  by  the  action  of  the  sea-waves,  have  been 
washed  out  from  the  face  of  a  low  cliff  on  the  west  side  and  near  the  mouth  of  Malegash 
bay.  Gold  was  here  first  discovered  among  the  sands  along  the  shore  beach,  and  in  such 
quantity  as  to  cause  no  small  excitement  at  the  outset.  At  £rst  it  was  supposed  that  tha 
auriferous  sands  were  thrown  up. from  the  bed  of  the  neighboring  sea,  for  gold  was  found  in 
increased  quantity  after  every  storm  which  drove  the  waves  in  shore.  It  was  eventually 
learned  that  this  result  was  produced  by  the  action  of  the  waves  in  sapping  the  face  of  th-e 
rock  forming  a  cross  section  of  an  auriferous  band  of  the  shore  itself.  The  washing  of 
these  sands  was  carried  on  with  vigor  for  some  time,  but  has,  of  late,  been  almost  wholly 
abandoned.  The  process  was  found  to  be  an  expensive  one,  and  the  area  over  which  it  could 
be  carried  on  very  limited.  The  auriferous  band  of  the  shore  itself  at  this  place  presents 
some  characteristics  seldom  me£  with  in  the  other  gold  districts  of  the  province.  The  quartz 
veins,  although  numerous  and  rich,  are  comparatively  thin,  and  the  "  cross  leads" — true 
veins  cutting  the  strata  transversely — are  the  richest  in  gold,  a  fact  seldom  met  with  else- 
where in  Nova  Scotia. 

The  Ovens  is  one  of  the  oldest  known  gold  districts  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  those  who  first 
invested  money  there  seem  to  have  entertained  most  extravagant,  expectations  of  the  richness 
of  the  place.  Their  anticipations  were  not  realized,  and  consequently,  in  the  reaction  which 
took  place  in  the  public  mind,  the  place  was  unreasonably  cried  down.  It  is  beyond  doubt 
that  gold  mining  can  be  carried  on  at  the  Ovens  with  fair  profits. 

ffatverieg  is  situated  10  miles;  distant  from  Halifax  by  the  post  road  to  Truro,  and  about 
12  miles  distant  from  the  same  place  by  railway.  Thus  far  Waverley  has  produced  a  larger 
gross  amount  of  gold  than  any  other  district  in  the  province,  a  result  which  is  in  a  large 
degree  attributable  to  the  favorable  situation  of  the  place,  and  the  unwonted  vigor  with  which 
mining  operations  have  there  been  carried  on  by  two  or  three  of  the  most  largely  interested 
companies,  for  the  average  yield  of  gold  per  ton  of  quartz,  over  the  whole  district  and  for  a 
period  of  six- years,  has  been  less  at  Waverley  than  at  several  other  districts.  The  most 
effective  rule  to  apply  in  order  to  ascertain,  at  least  approximately,  the  profit  derivable  from 
a  mine,  or  from  a  whole  district,  is  to  show  the  product  of  gold  for  each  man  engaged  in 
and  about  mining.  In  1&63,  the  first  year  in  which  complete  official  returns  were  obtained, 
Waverley  gave  .$258  40  per  man  for  the  year.  This  rate  has  gradually  increased  year  by 
year,  until,  in  1865,  it  amounted  to  $895  87.  There  was  a  slight  falling  off  during  the 
ensuing  years. 

Lawre.ncetown,  is  about  12  miles  eastward  of  Halifax,  between  the  great  eastern  shore  road 
and  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic  itself,  and  is  of  easy  access.  Since  «1861  mining  has  been 
carried  on  at  this  place  with  varying  success,  operations  being  wholly  suspended  at  intervals. 
It  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  1886  that  the  real  value  of  this  gold  field  came  to  be  appre- 
ciated. Since  then  a  large  portion  of  the  district  has  fallen  into  new  hands ;  some  very  rich 
lodes  have  been  struck,  and  mining  has  been  prosecuted  with  considerable  vigor. 

Montagu,  six  miles  eastward  of  Halifax,  and  of  easy  access  by  post  road,  has  not  been 
distinguished  by  the  same  activity  which  has  characterized  operations  in  some  other  districts. 
Nevertheless  the  ground  is  favorably  situated  for  mining ;  and  the  monthly  and  yearly  returns 
of  its  gold  product  are  rather  remarkable  for  the  slight  degree  of  fluctuation  they  exhibit. 
These  for  the  year  ending  30th  of  September  last  showed  a  product  of  $406  60  per  man. 

I  may  here  observe  that  since  1864  the  30th  September  has  been  held  as  the  termination 
of  the  fiscal  year  in  Nova  Scotia.  Consequently  when,  hereafter,  I  speak  of  any  returns 
for  either  of  the  years  1865,  1866  or  1867,  I  allude  to  the  twelvemonth  ending  with  the  30th 
September  of  the  year  in  question. 

That  part  of  Oldlutm  district  in  which  the  principal  mining  operations  have  heretofore  been 
carried  on  is  about  three  miles  eastward  of  Knfield  railway  station,  which  station  is  27  miles 
distant  by  rail  from  Halifax.  Owing  to  causes  which  are  attributable  less  to  the  nature  of. 
the  place  than  to  the  management  of  those  who  have  invested  there,  mining  has  been  less 
uniformly  successful  there  than  in  some  other  localities.  Oldham  has  the  distinction  of  having 
shown  a  larger  maximum  yield  of  gold  than  any  other  district.  At  one  time  this  amounted 
to  103  ounces,  14  dwts.  per  ton  of  quartz.  In  another  respect  it  is  almost,  singular,  fo*r  a 
"  cross  vein  "  of  quartz  has  here  proved  to  be  one  01  the  most  productive  lodes  in  the  district. 

Renfrew  is  distant  about  seven  miles  westward  from  Enfield  railway  station,  already  men- 
tioned. From  1862  to  1865,  inclusive,  mining  was  carried  on  in  this  district  on  no  very 
extensive  scale,  but  with  fair  and  increasing  profits,  and  a  gradual  extension  of  operations. 
In  1866,  owing  to  an  influx  of  additional  mining  capital,  and  the  opening  of  a  number  of  new 
lodes,  a  great  stride  in  advance  was  made,  and  the  aggregate  gold  product  for  that  year  was 
more  than  five  times  that  of  the  last  previous  year.  This  prosperity  has  continued  unabated 
to  the  present  time,  and  in  1867  the  Renfrew  mines  afforded  $895  30  per  man. 

The  centre  of  Uniacke  mines  is  about  three  miles  eastward  of  Mount  Uniacke  railway 
station,  this  station  being  26  miles  by  the  Windsor  Branch  railway  from  Halifax,  and  22  from. 
Windsor.  .  Mining  may  be  said  to  feave  really  commenced  in  the  early  parf  of  1867,  the  first 
important  discoveries  of  gold  having;  been  made  there  during  the  preceding  year.  Thet 


60  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

prospects  throughout  the  district,  so  far  as  explorations  have  boen  extended,  are  very  prom- 
ising, and  mining,  where  it  has  been  carried  on,  has  shown  large  returns.  The  operations 
of  one  company  at  Uniacke,  for  some. .mouths  during  the  latter  part  of  1867,  yielded  at  the 
rate  of  an  ounce  of  gold  per  day  per  man,  a  larger  average,  I  believe,  than  has  been  shown 
elsewhere  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Tangier  is  upon  the  Atlantic  coast,  56  miles  eastward  from  Halifax  by  post  road,  and  about 
the  same  distance  by  water.  This  district,  although  an  exceedingly  rich  one  beyond  all 
question,  has  been  subject  to  great  and  frequent  fluctuations,  owing  mainly,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  the  injudicious  mining  regulations  adopted  by  the  government  when  goid  was 
first  discovered  there ;  and  secondly,  to  the  business  complications  of  tho.se  into  whose  hands 
a  large  portion  of  the  rruning  ground  subsequently  fell.  This  district  is  divided  into  two 
sections,  known  as  blocks  A  and  13,  or  Old  Tangier  and  Tangier  proper.  The  latter  lies 
immediately  upon  the  shore  about  the  tide-waters  of  the  sale  and  commodious  havens  of 
Tangier  and  Pope's  harbor,  and  consequently  possesses  great  facilities  of  access.  Old 
Tangier,  as  already  mentioned,  is  situated  about  nine  miles  back  fronvthe  shore.  Although 
this  was  rtie  first  spot  where  gold  was  mined  in  Nova  Scotia"  the  operations  carried  on  there 
are  still  upon  a  somewhat  limited  scale.  This  has  been  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  access  to 
the  place.  Latterly,  however,  a  road  has  been  opened  through  the  wilderness,  and  mining 
has  there  been  renewed  with  much  spirit.  The  quartz  lodes  are  numerous,  continuous,  and 
of  even  thickness,  and  yield  a  good  average  of  gold.  A  large  quantity  of  specimens  of  aurif- 
erous nuggety  quartz  taken  from  old  Tangier  during  the  latter  part  of  1867  exceed  in  richness 
and  brilliancy  anything  of  their  kind  previously  found  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Sherbrooke  gold  district  lies  upon  the  west  side  of  St.  Mary's  river.  It  is  150  miles  from 
Halifax  by  the  most  direct  land  route,  and  about  two-thirds  of  that  distance  by  water.  This 
district  has  been  one  of  the  largest  producers  of  gold  in  Nova  Scotia.  It  has  also  been,  per- 
haps, one  of  the  most  uninterruptedly  successful,  a  fact  which,  however,  I  am  inclined  to 
attribute  less  to  the  exceeding  richness  of  the  mines  tlian  to  the  skill  and  energy  with  which 
they  have  been  worked.  The  profits  of  mining  in  Sherbrooke  have  continue'd  to  increase 
steadily  year  by  year.  This  can  scarcely  be  questioned  when  we  find  that  the  annual  yield 
of  gold  has  attained  an  average  of  $1,592  58  for  every  man  employed. 

Wine  Harbor  gold  district  is  situate  upon  the  harbor  of  the  same  name,  four  miles  eastward 
of  the  moifch  of  St.  Mary's  river,  already  named.  During  the  first  four  years  of  i's  mining 
history,  this  district  kept  pace  with  Sherbrooke  as  a  gold  producer — indeed,  rather  surpassed 
the  latter  place.  Since  then  there  has  been  something  of  a  falling  off  in  the  product.  This 
is  mainly  owing  to  the  fact  that  latterly  the  parties  most  largely  interested  at  Wine  Harbor 
have  engaged  a  large  share  of  their  joint  efforts  in  works  which  are  not  immediately  pro- 
ductive, but  which  are  essential  to  an  extension  of  mining  operations.  There  seems  to  be 
no  reason  to  doubt  that. the  place  will  soon  resume  its  former  high  position  as  a  gold  district. 

Isaac's  Harbor  or  Stormont  district  is  advantageously  situated  upon  one  of  the  finest  harbors 
iipon  the  eastern  coast,  and  is  about  20  miles  eastward  of  the  mouth  of  St.  Mary's  river.  This 
district  has  also  been  a  large  producer  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  effort  that  has  there 
been  put  forth  in  mining  ;  but  enterprises  of  that  class  have  never  yet  been  entered  into  upon 
anything  like  a  large  scale.  The  possibilities  of  the  place  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact 
that,  taking  the  whole  period  since  gold  mining  commenced  in  Nova  Scotia,  we  find  that 
the  mines  of  Isaac's  harbor  have  kept  up  the  largest  average  yield  of  gold  per  ton  of  quartz. 

The  situation  of  Wagamatkook  is  comparatively  remote  from  the  centres  of  population, 
being  in  the  wooded  highlands  of  the  interior  of  Victoria  county.  The  difficulty  of  access 
to  it  has  militated  against  its  prosperity  as  a  mining  district.  Another  cause  of  its  lack  of 
prosperity  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  large  portion  of  its  most  promising  ground  remained 
for  a  long  time  in  the  hands  of  parties  who  did  little  or  nothing  to  develop  it.  Indeed,  little 
more  can  be  said  of  Wagamatkook  than  that  it  affords  very  promising  indications  as  a  gold 
field  ;  but  that  much  may  be  alleged  with  perfect  safety. 

The  progress  of  development  of  these  mining  districts,  although  not  very  rapid,  lias  been 
continuous,  steady,  and  increasingly  satisfactory.  The  aggregate  quantity  of  gold  produced 
by  them  was,  in  1862,  7,275  ounces;  in  1863,  14,001  ounces,  14  pennyweights,  17  grams  ; 
in  1864,  for  nine  months  ending  September  30,  14,565  ounces,  9  pennyweights,  8  grains  ;  iu 
1865,  for  12  months  ending  September  30,  24,867  ounces,  5  pennyweights,  22  grains;  in 
18(T6,  24,162  ounces,  4  pennyweights,  11  grains ;  in  1867,  27,5d3  ounces,  6  pennyweights,  9 
grains. 

In  another  respect,  these  results  are  more  gratifying.  There  are  no-  returns  of  the 
number  of  men  engaged  in  mining  in  1862;  but  in  1803  the  total  quantity  of  gold  produced 
was  equivalent  to  $296  to  every  man  engaged  in  and  about  gold  mining  iu  Nova  Scotia  during 
the  year.  In  1864,  this  average  had  attained,  for  nine  months  only,  $324  66  per  man  ;  in 
1865,  $664  80;  in  1866,  $669  '41 ;  and  in  1867,  $765  per  man  for  the  12  mouths,  equal  to 
$2  44  per  man  per  day.  In  all  these  calculations  gold  is  estimated  at  $18  50  per  ounce,  which 
Ls  less  than  its  real  value. 

When  the  first  of  these  averages  was  made  known  to  the  public,  it  was  clearly  shown  that 
the  mines  of  Nova  Scotia  in  the  aggregate  yielded  a  larger  average  product  per  man  engaged 
in  mining  than  thfese  of  any  other  country,  and  this  average  has  been  nearly  trebled  in  four 
years.  In  fact,  although  the  above  calculations  do  not  necessarily  prove  it,  the  results  pro- 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  61 

duced  from  the  various  gold  mines  of  Nova  Scotia,  taken  separately,  do  not  present  those 
striking  contrasts  observable  in  every  other  gold-producing  country.  We  seldom  hear  of  such 
extraordinarily  rich  prizes  as  are,  at  times,  met  with  elsewhere,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  mine 
which  is  a  total  failure — which  does  not  at  least  yield  a  moderate  profit — is  a  very  rare  exception. 
It  will  be  seen  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  last  named,  and  even  that  may  scarcely  be 
considered  an  exception,  all  of  the  gold  districts  above  briefly  described  are  easily  accessible, 
lying,  as  they  do,  immediately  upon  a  coast  abounding  with  superior  harbors,  or  within  a 
very  few  miles  of  the  great  interior  thoroughfares  of  the  province.  »Thcy  are  so  situate  that 
they  can  be  readily  supplied  with  all  the  requisites  of  a  mining  district  at  a  low  rate  of 
charge.  When  one  considers  this  fact,  together  with  that  of  the  productive  character  of  the 
mines  themselves,  he  may  naturally  wonder  at  the  paucity  of  the  numbers  engaged  in  mining, 
and  of  the  consequent  aggregate  result  of  their  operations.  Doubtless,  in  the  very  propin- 
quity of  Nova  Scotia  to  Great  Britain,  the  Atlantic  States,  and  the  other  Canadian  provinces, 
the  sources  from  which  most  great  commercial  enterprises  emanate,  awd  the  facility  with  which 
reliable  auriferous  districts  may  be  reached,  become  possessed,  and  profitably  developed  in 
Nova  Scotia,  may  be  found,  in  great  measure,  the  solution  of  the  problem  thus  suggested. 
There  probably  never  was  an  adage  more  pregnant  with  truth  than  that  embodied  in  the  oft 
quoted  poetical  line : 

'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view. 

Even  from  Nova  Scotia  itself  people  sometimes  go  to  Colorado,  Columbia,  California,  Aus- 
tralia, or  New  Zealand,  to  mine  gold,  thus  abandoning  at  least  ten  chances  in  their  favor  at 
Lome  for  one  that  they  can  pitk  up  abroad. 

Comparing  the  prospects  with  the  results,  as  above  set  forth,  it  will  be  seen  that  gold 
mining  is  yet  in  its  infancy  in  Nova  Scotia.  We  may  further  infer  that  the  discovery  of 
localities  in  which  gold  mining  can  be  carried  on  with  profit  has  scarcely  more  thau  com- 
menced. Among  the  places  not  already  named  where  gold  has  been  discovered,  with  good 
prospects  of  prolitable  mining,  may  be  mentioned  Cranberry  Head,  at  the  extreme  western 
limit  of  the  province,  in  Yarmouth  county ;  Gold  river,  in  Lunenburgh  county ;  Boar's  Back, 
near  Gay's  river,  and  Stewiacke,  in  Colchester;  East  river,  Chizzelcook,  Musquodoboft, 
Scraggy  Lake,  Killagg  river,  and  elsewhere  on  the  Sheet  Harbor  rivers  and  their  branches, 
in  Halifax  county  ;  and  the  shores  of  Chedabucto  bay  and  Cape  Porcupine,  in  Guysborough 
count}'.  The  existence  of  auriferous  deposits  in  some  of  these  places  has  been  known  for 
years  ;  in  others  it  is  of  recent  discovery. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place,  in  this  paper,  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  the  more  important 
provisions  of  the  law  of  Nova  Scotia  relating  to  gold  mines.  It  must  be  premised  that, 
whoever  may  be  the  owner  of  the  laud,  gold  mines  in  Nova  Scotia  belong,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  the  Crown.  At  least,  this  is  practically  the  case  as  yet.  There  are  portions  of  land  in 
the  province  which  have  been  granted  without  reserving  to  the  Crown  any  minerals,  but  upon 
such  unlimited  grants  no  gold  has  yet  been  discovered.  As  a  rule,  out  of  all  land  granted 
in  Nova  Scotia  there  are  reserved  to  the  Crown  all  mines  and  deposits  of  gold,  silver,  lead, 
tin,  iron,  copper,  and  coal.  All  other  mineral  substances  are  conveyed  with  the  soil. 

The  regulations  improvised  by  the  governor  and  council  on  the  first  discovery  of  gold  in 
Nova  Scotia,  as  also  the  first  "gold  field  act"  passed  by  the  provincial  legislature,  were 
framed,  as  might  naturally  enough  be  supposed,  with  but  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of 
what  was  requisite  to  a  gold  mining  community  anywhere,  still  more  of  all  that  was  peculiar 
in  the  Nova  fcscotian  gold  fields,  and  would  most  conduce  to  their  development.  Conse- 
quently they  were  hampered  with  many  provisions  which  experience  soon  proved  to  be  use- 
less, but  which  bore  heavily  and  vexatiously  upon  those  who  engaged  in  mining  enterprises. 
There  is  little  room  to  doubt  that  the  check  thus  given  to  such  enterprises  at  their  very  con- 
ception is,  in  its  results,  felt  to  some  extent  even  yet.  The  law  now  in  force,  which,  with 
its  subsequent  amendments,  was  framed  by  the  writer  of  this  paper,  has  been  found  to  work 
satisfactorily  to  all  parties  concerned,  although,  of  course,  every  yearns  additional  experience 
suggests  some  further  amendation. 

According  to  the  existing  law,  the  intending  miner,  having  determined  upon  the  site  of  his 
future  operations,  it  not  being  preoccupied  by  another,  may,  in  the  first  instance,  apply  at 
the  department  of  mines  for  either  a  "prospective  license,"  or  a  lease.  There  is  no  limit  to 
the  extent  of  ground  that  he  may  apply  for.  To  obtain  a  prospecting  license  he  must  pay 
at  the  rate  of  50  cents  per  acre,  and,*where  the  ground  applied  for  is  not  Crown  land, 
must  enter  into  a  bond  to  reimburse  the  proprietor  thereof  for  any  damage  that  may  be  done 
to  his  land.  This  license  holds  good  for  three  months,  but  is  renewable  for  a  further  term  of 
three  months  upon  the  prepayment  of  25  cents  per  acre.  This  gives  him  the  exclusive  right 
to  explore  over  th3  whole  tract  applied  for,  and  select  any  part,  or  the  whole  of  it,  upon 
which  to  cariy  on  mining  operations. 

Before  entering  upon  any  such  mining  operations,  he  must,  whether  he  has  previously  held 
a  prospecting  license  or  not,  apply  for  a  lease  of  such  unoccupied  ground  as  he  may  have 
selected  for  his  purpose.  On  making  such  application,  he  is  required  to  pay  at  tho  rate  of 
f>2  for  each  area  of  250  feet  in  length  by  150  feet  in  breadth  ;  a,nd,  also,  when  the  ground 
applied  for  is  private  property,  to  make  an  arrangement  with  the  owner  of  the  soil  for  any 
•damages  the  latter  is  likely  to  sustain.  Thereupon  he  receives  a  lease  for  21  years,  reserv- 
ing a  royalty  of  two  and  one-half  per  cent,  upon  all  the  gold  mined.  The  law  further  requires 


62 


RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 


him  to  have  labor  performed  annually  at  the  rate  of  100  days'  work  for  every  250X150  feet 
leased  by  him ;  and  to  furnish  quarterly,  and  swear  to,  a  return  showing,  among  other  things, 
the  amount  of  work  and  where  performed,  the  quantity  of  quartz  mined,  the  mill  to  which 
it  was  sent,  and  the  quantity  of  gold  obtained  from  it. 

Any  person  is  liable  to  a  beavy  fine  who  runs  a  quartz  mill  without  a  license.  Before 
obtaining  this  license,  for  which  there  is  no  charge,  he  must  give  bonds  with  ample  sureties 
for  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  required  by  law.  The  licensed  mill  owner  must  every 
month  make  and  swear  to  a  return  showing  the  quantity  of  quartz  crashed,  the  mine  whence 
it  came,  and  the  quantity  of  gold  taken  from  it;  and  out  of  this  gold  he  himself  pays  to  the 
mines  department  the  royalty  reserved  by  law,  receiving  three  per  cent,  out  of  that  royalty 
commission  for  his  trouble. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  every  pains  has  been  taken  to  insure  reliability  in  the  statistical 
returns  furnished  from  the  Nova  Scotian  gold  fields.  A  glance  at  this  outline  of  the  leading 
provisions  of  the  law  will  convince  the  reader  that,  at  least,  there  can  be  no  exaggeration  in 
the  statistical  statement  above  set  forth,  or  in  the  tables  appended  to  this  paper.  Doubtless 
some  gold  is  smuggled  away  from  the  mines  without  paying  royalty,  and  consequently  never 
appears  in  the  official  returns.  The  amount  which  is  thus  eliminated  from  the  auriferous 
products  of  the  country  cannot  be  estimated  with  anything  approaching  to  accuracy. 

The  following  yearly  abstracts  of  the  results  of  gold  mining  operations  from  18b'3  to  18S7, 
inclusive,  shows  the  progress  that  has  been  made  and  the  aggregate  product,  so  far  as  official 
returns  can  show  them : 

* 

Abstract  of  gold  mining  statistics — 1863. 


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Oz.Dwt.Gr 

Oz.  Diet.  Gr. 

Oz.Dwt.Gr 

Isaac's  Harbor 

50 

1 

1 

o 

526  11    0 

307 

1  567  13  12 

800     $587  30 

124 

4 

3 

3  644  10    0 

1    0  10 

3  718    2  19 

(56    o    0  1    -e>;"?»  <>n 

Sherbrooke  

100 

4 

1 

3  454    1  68 

19    0 

29    0    0 

3  304  14  12 

12    0    0 

611  40 

120 

6 

3 

3 

655    9  40 

15    2 

4"4    8  21 

400 

76  20 

G 

I 

o 

123  10    0 

*     10  11 

64  17  12 

200  00 

Montagu 

124 

0 

0 

o 

139  18    0 

2  16    2 

306  14  16 

598 

55  50 

Waverley  

187 

5 

n 

6,754  19  15 

7    1 

2,  380    6    3 

17  14    0 

258  40 

Oldham 

83 

g 

5 

3 

1  025  16  33 

146 

1  "•''}    3  21 

43  13    6 

27°  60 

Renfrew  

68 

4 

2 

574  17    0 

177 

785    7    7 

660 

203  90 

Ovens  

15 

1 

1 

o 

102    1  59 

4  13  23 

76    5  14 

900 

69  40 

Total  

877 

35 

25 

10 

17,001  14  15 

16  12 

28    0    0 

14,001  14  17 

66    0    0 

2(J6  (JO 

Abstract  of  gold  mining  statistics — 1864. 


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Oz.Dwt.Gr 

0i.J9Ktf.Gr 

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Oz.Dirt.Gr 

Stormont,  Isaac's 

78 

fc-j 

1 

1 

391  10    0 

2  14  21 

1,  049    4  21 

8  10    0 

$2-18  80 

Harbor. 

"\Vino  Harbor 

MM 

4 

3 

1 

2  738    0    0 

1     2  18 

3,  120    9    5 

16    0    0 

749  73 

Shcrbrooke  

113 

4 

3 

1 

1,909  12    0 

178 

2,611  22  22 

29    0    0 

All  51 

Tantricr 

51 

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3 

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468  17    0 

15  11 

363    2    0 

2    7  20 

I'il  (»7 

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304  15    0 

2    2  15 

649    8  23 

3  10    0 

3-J4  50 

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279 

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5 

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6,979  14    0 

12  17 

4,  -J!U    3    0 

20    0    0 

297  80 

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134 

7 

4 

3 

1,  757    0    0 

15  12 

1,362  15    8 

1C3  14    0 

188  14 

lien  1  re  w 

42 

5 

3 

o 

*750    6    0 

137 

874    5    6 

610 

385  00 

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19 

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17    0    0 

6    1 

38  11    3 

43  13  19 

42  54 

830 

35 

23 

12 

15,316  14    0 

19    0 

38  11    3   14,565    9    8  103  14    0 

3-^4  66 

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I 

email  lode. 

I 

EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


63 


Abstract  of  gold  mining  statistics — 1865. 


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Oz.Dwt.Gr 

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0 

1 

1  122    2    0 

1  15  15 

1,  999    0    2 

8  10  18 

$394  47 

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681  10    0 

18    7 

117    9    0 

741   *7  15 

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1  12  10 

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3  13  10 

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65 

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1  242    6  21 

10  15    3 

353  52 

35 

5 

3 

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1  114  10    0 

14  17 

:::::::::: 

820  12  23 

7  17  12 

436  60 

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claiaied  

6 

1 

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10  10 

23  18    0 

64    6  21 

1  17    6 

10 

692  1  33 

23 

23,  835  11    0 

1    0  21 

141    7    0  t24,  867    5  22 

16  10"  0 

664  80 

Abstract  of  gold  mining  statistics — 1866. 


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Oi.  Z>w«.  Gr. 

Oz.  Dwi.  Gr 

041 

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1 

1,  956    7    0 

0  10  18 

1,055    7  13 

300 

$565  91 

Harbor. 

35 

4 

3 

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2  192    8    0 

11    4 

1,224  13    1 

87    0    0 

647  27 

69 

4 

4 

2  684    1    0 

1  22    0 

5  157  14  17 

16    6  16 

1  382  86 

28 

4 

1 

3 

956    2    0 

8  19 

11  17    4 

420    0    3 

4  18    0 

277  .50 

2fif 

1 

563    5    0 

160 

707    1     1 

3  12    0 

488  95 

Wiverley 

332 
36 

7 
7 

6 
5 

1 
2 

17;  286.  0    0 
964     2    0 

12    1 

16    2 

10,  486    0  21 
776  12    4 

370 
6    3  19 

584  31 
399    6 

Oldham 

94 

7 

5 

o 

4  181    7    0 

19  23 

4  170    3  17 

9  18    0 

8°1  90 

Unproclaimed  and 
other  

12* 

1 

1 

179  10*  0 

17  15 

24  17  11 

158  11     8 

12    0    0 

234  65 

667f 

38 

27 

It  1.30,963    2    0 

15  14 

36  14  15 

24,  162    4  13 

87'   0    0 

669  41 

Abstract  of  gold  mining  statistics — 1867. 


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Oz.Dwt.Gr 

Oz.Dwt.Gr 

Oz.  Z?«rt.  Gr. 

Oz.Dwt.Gr 

45 

0 

0 

n 

1   149    0    0 

158 

1  505    2  11 

4  10    0 

$618  73 

33 

4 

3 

1  667    0    0 

B  13 

764    9    9 

26  13    8 

4°8  60 

99 

5 

o 

5  809    0    0 

198 

8  522    8  11 

11  13    5 

1  59°  58 

Tangier  

19 

4 

9 

486    0    0 

16    7 

20    6    0 

395  16  10 

4    6  16 

385  50 

19 

1 

1 

o 

214    0    0 

1  19    0 

417  13  21 

2    9  20 

406  60 

Waverley  

181 

4 

i 

11,289    0    0 

7    7 

4,134  18  17 

1  12  18 

4-22  63 

Oldham 

52 

4 

i 

960    0    0 

187 

1  359  12    2 

4    0  20 

483  88 

189 

5 

3 

7  770    0    0 

144 

9  401    2  10 

381 

895  3f) 

Uuiacke  

30 

n 

1,  212    0    0 

15  15 

947    1  17 

14  10    0 

584  00 

Unproclaimed  and 

other  districts.. 

9 

2 

1 

i 

117    0    0 

134 

28  15  15 

135    0  21 

200 

278  55 

Total  

676 

35 

27 

8 

30,673    0    0 

17  23 

49    1  15 

27,583    6    9 

26  13    8 

765  00 

64         RESOURCES  OF  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES 

As  intimated  elsewhere  in  this  paper,  operations  in  search  of  gold  in  Nova  Scotia  have 
been  prosecuted  almost  invariably  in  the  veins  of  quartz  in  situ.  In  the  few  localities  where 
"Diluvial  mining  has  been  carried  on  the  means  employed  have  been,  as  in  other  countries, 
those  of  the  cradle,  long-torn,  and  sluice,  but  more  especially  the  latter.  But  even  in  the 
few  alluvial  auriferous  deposits  which  have  yet  been  discovered  free  gold  is  only  found  in 
small  quantity.  In  such  places  the  surface  soil  is  usually  found  to  be  profusely  interspersed 
with  fragments  of  auriferous  quartz,  with  boulders  and  pebbles  of  what  had  been  its  enclos- 
ing rock.  The  processes  referred  to  merely  wash  off  the  earthy  matter  from  the  mixed  mate- 
rial, retaining  the  free  gold  and  the  fragments  of  quartz  and  other  socks.  From  the  latter 
the  quartz  is  separated  and  subjcctcd'to  the  stamping  mill.  This  may  seem  a  tedious  process, 
and  it  requires  much  care;  but  in  the  few  localities  which  have  favored  the  operation,  it  has 
proved  very  remunerative.  In  some  instances,  and  generally  where  the  situation  favored 
such  a  j  recess,  thp  whole  of  the  surface  material  has  been  run  through  the  stamping  mill,  as 
the  more  profitable  mode  of  saving  the  gold  contained  in  it. 

The  Nova  Scotiau  gold,  as  taken  from  the  matrix,  is  almost  singularly  free  from  alloy,  a 
fact  which,  in  a  very  material  degree,  exempts  the  gold  hunter  there  from  difficulties  which 
beset  him  in  many  other  parts  of  the  world.  As  to  the  mode  of  reducing  the  auriferous 
tquartz,  slate,  &c.,  and  extracting  the  gold  therefrom,  numerous  processes  have  been  tried. 
For  pulverizing  quartz  the  first  apparatus  employed — not  considering  the  rude  and  tempo- 
rary appliances  hurriedly  improvised  on  the  first  discovery  of  gold — was  the  stamping  mill. 
Since  then,  and  more  especially  during  the  first  two  or  three  years  of  Nova  Scotia's  gold- 
mining  history,  numerous  other  contrivances,  involving  some  variety  of  mechanical  princi- 
ples, have  been  tried.  We  have  had  improved  specimens  of  the  rude  arrastra,  the  Chilian 
mill,  the  revolving  pan  and  sphere,  the  "dry  process "  of  pulverizing  quartz  by  passing  it 
through  a  rapidly  revolving  cylinder,  and  various  combinations  and  varieties  of  these.  Some 
processes  which  I  have  not  had  opportunities  of  inspecting  have  also  been  employed  for  a 
time.  But  all  others  have,  as  yet,  been,  by  practical  men,  sooner  or  later  discarded  in  favor 
of  the  old  stamping  mill. 

In  the  appliances  used  for  amalgamation  there  has  been  almtst  as  great  a  variety,  but  a 
pretty  nearly  uniform  process  has  eventually  been  adopted.  Quicksilver  is  deposited  in 
quantity  in  the  stamper-boxes.  As  a  thin  stream  of  water  runs  continually  into  each  stamper- 
box  while  the  mill  is  in  operation,  the  finer  and  lighter  particles  of  the  triturated  gangue  are 
being  constantly  washed  out,  through  a  wire  gauze  or  finely  perforated  plate,  upon  a  sloping 
table,  the  sides  of  which  converge,  and,  at  its  lower  end,  conduct  to  a  succession  of  sluice- 
boxes  which  form  a  gradual  descent.  The  bottom  and  sides  of  this  table  and  these  sluice- 
b«xes  are  covered  with  copper  plates.  In  some  mills,  instead  of  sluice -boxes,  there  are  pro- 
vided shaking  tables,  the  superior  advantages  of  which  yet  remain,  I  think,  to  be  proved. 
By  this  mode  a  greatly  preponderating  portion  of  the  gold  freed  from  its  matrix  never  leaves 
the  .stumper-box,  but  amalgamates  and  remains  there  with  the  quicksilver.  The  particles  of 
bath  metals,  thrown  out  by  the  mechanical  action  of  the  machinery  and  the  current  of  water, 
are  caught  upon  the  copper  plates,  over  which,  for  a  time,,  they  are  carried. 

This  is  the  mode  of  treatment  which,  thus  far,  has1  met  with  the  most  general  approval. 
It  is  of  not  unfrequent  occurrence  that  when  a  new  comer  from  abroad  enters  a  mining  dis- 
trict he  regards  somewhat  scornfully  the  simple  processes  I  have  briefly  sketched ;  but  it 
invariably  happens  that,  after  indulging  in  some — frequently  very  expensive — experiments 
in  setting  up  "the  latest  improvements,"  he  falls  back  into  the  old  mode,  or  some  very  slight 
modification  of  it.  That  all  the  gold  is  saved  by  this  treatment  is  more  than  any  person 
would  be  justified  in  saying.  For  about  the  first  year  of  gold  mining  in  Nova  Scotia  most, 
mills  had  in  connection  with  them  kilns  for  roasting  the  quartz  before  it  was  subjected  to  the 
stamps.  It  was  discovered,  however,  or  supposed  to  be,  that  no  profit  was  made  by  this, 
and  that,  indeed,  the  balance,  if  any,  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  account. 

It  is  certain  that  in  most  auriferous  quartz  veins  mispickel  (arsenical  pyrites)  is  found,  in 
some  of  them  in  large  and  numerous  masses.  It  may  be  safely  averred  that  all  of  this  is 
impregnated  with  gold;  and,  owing  to  the  difficulty,  if  not  impossibility,  of  amalgamating 
any  considerable  portion  of  the  gold  so  associated  by  this  simple  process  above  described,  a 
considerable  quantity  must  be  lost.  Latterly  some  proprietors  of  mines  have  carefully  sep- 
arated this  arsenical  pyrites  from  the  tailings  of  their  quartz  mills,  barrelled  it  up,  and  sent 
it  to  Europe,  where  it  has  been  subjected  to  chemical  treatment  and  has  yielded,  I  have  been 
led  to  believe,  a  good  profit  to  the  owner.  I  am  not  aware  that  a  like  treatment  has  yet 
come  into  use  in  Nova  Scotia. 

I  must  here  observe  that  the  sodium  amalgam,  of  comparatively  recent  discovery,  where 
experimented  with  in  the  mines  of  this  province,  has  produced  highly  gratifying  results,  and 
is  gradually  creeping  into  general  use. 

OF  MINES  OTHER  THAN  GOLD.— In  treating  of  the  mineral  resources  of  Nova  Scotia  other 
than  auriferous  deposits,  and  more  especially  of  its  coal  fields,  I  find  myself  even  more  at  a 
loss  to  speak  definitely  than  in  dealing  with  its  gold  mines.  This  difficulty  is  owing  to  the 
very  imperfect  character  of  the  geological  and  mineralogical  explorations  that  have  yet  taken 
place  in  the  province.  To  explain  this,  again,  I  must  be  historical  to  the  extent  of  a  few 
sentences. 

In  1826,  at  which  time  little  or  nothing  was  known  of  the  geology  and  mineralogy  of  the 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  65 

courtr^,  all  the  minerals  reserved  to  the  crown  in  granted  lands  and  all  those  in  crown  lands 
were  granted  by  George  IV  to  his  brother,  the  late  Duke  of  York,  for  a  term  ot'^60  years. 
This  grant  virtually  transferred  nearly  all  the  mineral  products  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  prop- 
erty thus  conveyed  to  the  Duke  of  York  eventually  came  into  the  hands  of  the  "General 
Mining  Association,"  a  powerful  English  company.  While  the  whole  mineral  resources  of 
the  country  were  thus  locked  up  by  a  monopoly,  little  or  no  disposition  was  shown,  either  by 
the  provincial  government  or  private  individuals,  to  ascertain  what  the  extent  of  those 
resources  was.  At  length,  after  years  of  irritation,  probably  on  both  sides,  and  some  not 
very  successful  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Nova  Scotians  to  possess  themselves  of  a  share  of 
the  mineral  wealth  of  their  own  country,  an  arrangement  was  effected  between  the  provin- 
cial government  and  the  General  Mining  Association  in  August,  1857,  which  was  confirmed 
by  the  Nova  Scotian  legislature  early  in  the  ensuing  year,  and  went  immediately  into  effect. 
According  to  this  arrangement  the  association  were  allowed  to  retain,  with  some  ameliora- 
tions in  the  terms  of  their  lease,  all  the  coal  seams  contained  in  about  75  square  miles,  com- 
prising- the  mines  already  opened  and  worked  by  them  at  Sydney,  Point  Aconi,  Lingan, 
and  Bridgport,  in  Cape  Breton,  the  Albion  mines  in  Pictou,  and  Springhill  and  The  Jogging 
in  Cumberland.  The  association,  on  their  part,  relinquished  all  claim  whatsoever  to  the 
mines  and  minerals  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  province.  Almost  immediately  upon 
the  conclusion  of  this  arrangement  there  commenced  an  activity  previously  unknown  in  Nova 
Scotia  in  exploring  for  minerals,  and  more  especially  for  coal,  outside  of  the  tracts  still 
retained  by  the  General  Mining  Association.  Years  must  yet  elapse  before  the  results  of  this 
still  actively  continued  exploration  can  enable  us  to  form  anything  like  a  close  approxima- 
tion to  an  estimate  of  the  area  of  Nova  Scotia  which  is  underlaid  by  available  coal  seams, 
or  of  the  aggregate  quantity  of  coal  which  may  be  extracted  from  those  coal  beds  and  put  in 
the  market.  I  shall,  however,  give  a  brief  outline  of  what  seem  to  be  the  possibilities  of  the 
country  in  this  respect. 

It  has  already  been  stated  above  that  of  the  18, (500  square  miles  of  the  total  area  of  the 
province  of  Nova  Scotia  about  10,000  square  miles  belong  to  the  geological  formation  through- 
out which  auriferous  deposits  are  found.  Let  us  deduct  from  the  remaining  surface  of  the 
province  that  portion  which  belongs  to  the  new  red  sandstone  formation,  associated  with  trap 
rock.  This  is  represented  by  a  narrow  strip  of  land  varying  from  two  to  five  miles  in  width, 
extending  along  the  south  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  from  Brier  island  to  Cape  Blouridon, 
and  also  some  islands  and  isolated  headlands  on  both  sides  of  Minas  basin  and  Cobequid 
bay.  All  the  remainder  of  Nova  Scotia  belongs  to  the  carboniferous  formation.  The  pro- 
ductive coal  measures  of  this  formation  naturally  divide  themselves  into  the  following  inde- 
pendent coal  fields : 

The  North  Hants  and  South  Colchester  coal  basin  presents  no  good,  natural  cross  section, 
although  it  is  bisected  in  nearly  equal  halves  by  the  Slmbenacadie  river.  Thin  seams  of 
coal  have  been  discovered  at  several  points  near  the  margin  of  this  basin,  but  no  mines  have 
been  opened,  and  its  value  as  a  productive  coal  field  yet  remains  to  be  proved. 

The  North  Colchester  field  comprises  a  narrow  strip  between  the  Cobequid  Hills,  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  shores  of  Minas  basin  and  Cobequid  bay  on  the  other,  and  extending  from  the 
vicinity  of  Parrsborough  to  the  confines  of  Pictou  county.  Coal  has  been  mined  to  a  small 
extent,  but,  although  several  seams  have  been  discovered,  they  are  so  thin  that  to  work  them 
to  any  extent,  in  the  present  state  of  the  coal  arid  labor  markets,  would  not  prove  remunerative. 

The  Cumberland  coal  field  is  much  more  extensive.  At  the  western  confines  of  this  district, 
at  a  place  called  The  Joggins,  the  shore  of  Chiegnecto  bay  affords  a  remarkably  fine  cross 
section  of  the  whole  formation.  Here  may  be  observed  upwards  of  70  coal  seams,  compris- 
ing an  aggregate  thickness  of  over  40  feet.  The  more  important  workable  seams,  taken  in 
descending  order,  are  of  the  respective  thicknesses  of  five  feet,  one  foot  nine  inches,  two  feet 
nine  inches,  five  feet,  four  feet,  and  five  feet,  being  six  in  all.  Two  of  these  seams  are 
worked  on  the  Joggins  shore  by  the  General  Mining  Association,  who  there  hold  four  square 
miles  of  mining  territory.  From  three  to  four  rniies  east  of  the  Joggins  mine  are  the  Vic- 
toria and  Lawrence  mines,  oa  opposite  sides  of  the  navigable  river  Hebut.  Further  east, 
and  fronting  upon  the  navigable  Macan  river,  is  the  Macan  mine.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
same  river  and  lying  contiguous  to  each  other  are  the  mines  of  the  Chiegnecto,  the  St. 
George,  and  the  New  York  and.Acadia  companies.  All  of  these  mines  have  been  opened 
within  a  comparatively  recent  period,  and  all  are  supposed  to  be  worked  upon  some  of  the 
same  seams  which  exhibit  themselves  upon  the  Joggins  shore,  although  none  of  them  con- 
form in  every  particular  to  any  of  the  beds  found  at  the  latter  place. 

Near  Northumberland  strait,  the  extieme  eastern  shore  of  Cumberland,  some  coal  seams 
have  been  discovered  which  are  supposed  to  be  the  equivalents  of  those  seen  at  The  Joggins, 
but  none  of  workable  thickness  have  there  been  exposed  as  yet, 

At  a  place  called  Spring  Hill,  in  the  interior  of  this  county,  and  near  the  northern  base  of 
the  Cobequid  Hills,  about  20  miles  southeast  of  The  Joggius,  the  General  Mining  Association 
possess  a  tract  of  four  square  miles.  A  seam  of  excellent  coal,  12  feet  in  thickness,  has 
here  been  found,  but  no  proper  mine  has  yet  been  opened.  The  explorations  made  of  late 
years  by  other  lessees,  outside  of  the  association's  tract,  seem  to  indicate  that  ftiere  are  sev- 
eral available  coal  seams  in  this  vicinity :  but  the  partial  nature  of  those  explorations  and  a 
very  considerable  degree  of  disturbance  of  the  strata,  which  is  a  characteristic  of  the  district 

5   T 


66  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

and  a  serious  difficulty  to  the  explorer,  precludes  our  forming  anything  but  a  vague  estimate 
ot  either  the  number  or  extent  of  its  coal  beds. 

The  Pictou  coal  basin  lies  about  the  centre  of  the  county  of  the  same  name.  Considering 
how  comparatively  limited  is  its  horizontal  extent,  it  comprises  an  enormous  aggregate  thick- 
ness of  coal  beds.  The  most  important  seams  of  good  coal  known,  as  yet,  in  this  district 
are  of  the  respective  thicknesses  of  38,  22,  6,  11£,  H  ("oil  coal,")  19,  and  13  feet.  In  the 
centre  of  this  district  the  General  Mining  Association  have  an  area  of  four  square  miles,  and 
at  their  colliery,  known  as  the  Albion  mines,  have  carried  on  operations  for  many  years. 
Surrounding  this  colliery  on  every  side  are  others  which  have  but  recently  been  opened. 
Judging  from  its  development  thus  far,  the  horizontal  area  underlaid  by  the  above-mentioned 
seams,  including  what  is  believed  to  be  an  eastern  extension  of  the  Albion  mines  coal  meas- 
ures to  Merigonish  harbor,  may  be  roughly  estimated  at  not  less  than  30  square  miles.  Upon 
this  space  there  are  eight  collieries  now  in  operation,  and  preparations  are  being  made  for 
opening  several  others.  • 

The  Antiironish  coal  field  comprises  a  small  portion  of  the  northeastern  coast  of  the  county 
of  that  name.  Some  small  coal  fields  have  been  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Pomquet  harbor, 
and  in  consequence  of  this,  explorations  are  being  prospected  with  the  sanguine  hope  of  dis- 
covering one  that  can  be  worked  with  profit. 

The  productive  measures  of  the  Inverness  coal  field  seem  to  be  confined,  for  the  most  part, 
.to  a  narrow  band  of  country  near  the  coast.  A  mine  has  recently  been  opened  at  Port  Hood 
upon  a  seam  of  good  coal,  averaging  six  feet  in  thickness.  Other  coal  seams,  varying  from 
three  to  seven  feet  in  thickness,  are  found  along  the  coast  at  Mabon,  Broad  Cove,  and  Chim- 
ney Corner.  Although  showing  no  extensive  deposit  on  the  shore,  these  beds,  like  the  one 
being  worked  at  Port  Hood,  dip  seaward  and  are  probably  the  outcrops  of  an  extensive  coal 
field  under  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  In  the  southern  part  of  this  county, 
along  the  river  Inhabitants,  coal  has  been  found  in  several  places,  and  there  are  promising 
indications  of  a  valuable  deposit  of  that  mineral,  but,  owing  to  the  comparative  remoteness 
of  the  place  from  navigable  water  and  the  existence  of  so  much  coal  elsewhere  in  the  province 
in  more  favored  situations,  little  exploration  has  been  made  in  this  locality. 

This  River  Inhabitants  district  may  more  poperly  be  considered  a  northern  extension 
of  the  Richmond  coal  field,  which  comprises,  along  with  the  tract  just  mentioned,  all  the 
western  and  middle  portion  of  Richmond  county.  Here;  all  along  the  north  side  of  Lennox 
Passage,  from  St.  Peters  west  to  the  Strait  of  Canso,  good  indications  of  coal  are  found, 
although  the  stratification  is,  in  places,  very  much  disturbed.  At  Seacoal  bay,  in  the  south 
western  part  of  the  county,  a  mine  has  been  opened  upon  a  bed  of  coal  and  bituminous 
shale,  nearly  12  feet  in  thickness,  and  of  which  four  feet  only  are  worked  as  a  coal  seam. 
The  dip  is  here  nearly  vertical. 

The  Richmond  mine  is  four  miles  inland,  and  northward  of  the  last  mentioned.  Here  two 
seams  of  three  and  four  feet  respectively  are  beiug  worked.  Their  dip,  as  at  Seacoal  bay,  is 
nearly  vertical. 

Victoria  county  has  also  its  special  coal  field,  isolated  from  any  that  have  yet  been,  or  will 
hereafter  be  described.  Coal  has  been  discovered'on  the  north  side  of  St.  Patrick's  channel, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Wagamatkook  and  Baddeck  rivers ;  but  no  mine  has  yet  been  opened, 
nor  have  explorations  been  there  prosecuted  to  any  extent. 

The  last,  and  in  all  probability  most  extensive  and  most  important  coal  field  which  I  shall 
have  to  describe,  is  that  of  Cape  Breton.  It  extends  along  the  eastern  coast  from  Cape 
Dauphin,  near  the  southeastern  extremity  of  Victoria  county  to  an  unknown  point  under  the 
waters  of  Mira  bay,  off  South  Head  or  Point  Gage,  a  distance  of  about  40  miles.  Along 
this  whole  coast  band,  the  productive  coal  measures  are  found  extending  inland  for  a  dis- 
tance of  from  seven  to  nine  miles.  The  contained  coal  beds  dip  northeastward,  thus  indi- 
cating the  more  than  probable  existence,  of  an  immense  body  of  coal  beneath  the  sea. 
Notwithstanding  the  explorations  which  have  been  prosecuted  with  spirit  and  diligence  for 
some  years  past,  it  is  impossible  as  yet  to  state  with  confidence  the  number  of  coal  seams  of 
sufficient  dimensions  to  be  profitably  worked  in  this  fine  district.  I  may  state  that  not  less 
than  20  of  these  seams  have  been  opened  and  worked,  and  that  these  opened  seams  comprise 
an  aggregate  thickness  of  over  100  feet  of  superior  coal.  The  whole  district  of  these  pro- 
ductive measures  covers  a  horizontal  area  of  from  250  to  300  square  miles.  All  that  portion 
of  the  district  immediately  adjoining  the  coast  is  under  lease,  and  there  are  10  collieries  here 
in  operation.  These  are  jail  of  recent  origin,  except  those  of  the  General  Mining  Association 
at  North  Sidney,  Lingan,  and  Bridgport.  Here  is  the  largest  tract  retained  by  this  associa- 
tion. It  covers  all  the  land  extending  along  the  line  of  coast  from  the  north  side  of  Boular- 
derie  island  to  a  point  about  a  mile  south  of  Bridgport  basin,  and  comprises  over  GOquare  miles. 
A  cross  section  of  the  association's  ground,  on  the  north  side  of  Sidney  harbor  above,  shows 
no  less  than  34  seams  of  coal ;  but  of  these  only  four  have  yet  been  worked.  I  may  observe 
that  all  the  coal  yet  found  in  Nova  Scotia  is  soft  bituminous  coal. 

In  our  present  still  very  limited  knowledge  of  the  real  extent  of  the  productive  coal 
measures  in  Nova  Scotia  and  their  available  contents  in  coal,  any  estimates  of  either  the  one 
or  the  other  mtght  be  so  remote  an  approximation  to  the  truth  as  to  be  of  very  little  practi- 
cal value.  It  can  only  be  said,  iu  general  terms,  that  the  circumstances  of  that  Province 
point  to  an  enormous  future  development  of  that  branch  of  mining. 


EAST  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


67 


The  following  figures  showing  the  total  amount  of  coal  raised  and  shipped,  in  Nova  Scotia, 
in  tons  and  hundred  weights  from  1827  to  18G7,  inclusive,  will  exhibit  the  progress  of  its 
trade  in  this  particular  : 


Years. 

Tons. 

Cwt. 

Years. 

Tons. 

Cwt. 

1827  

11  491 

1848 

170  518 

, 

19  4°9 

17 

1849 

lf.8  955 

10 

1829 

20  252 

12 

1850 

163  728 

8 

1830 

25  240 

6 

1851 

139  976 

13 

1831  •  

34  424 

8 

1852 

17]  821 

18 

1832 

46  585 

Q 

1853 

196  935 

17 

1833  

59  497 

4 

1854 

213  250 

16 

1834 

46  677 

1° 

1855 

216  338 

3 

1835  

51  813 

5 

1856 

231  934 

7 

1836 

98'  4°7 

3 

1857 

267  808 

17 

1837  

109  347 

12 

1858 

289  618 

1838 

97  938 

14 

1859 

267  496 

1839  

133  928 

I860 

304  129 

1840 

98  2f>7 

17 

1861 

334  545 

15 

1841  .. 

136  110 

9 

1862 

393  631 

]842 

119  478 

1° 

1863 

424  4°5 

2 

1843  ,.  

97  200 

12 

1864  (9  months)     

406  699 

1844  

99  993 

14 

1865  

651,256 

14 

1845  

137  908 

13 

1866 

601  302 

o 

1846 

134  393 

12 

1867 

54°  127 

1847  

183  099 

13 

The  slight  falling  off  during  the  last  two  years  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  abrogation  of  the 
"reciprocity  treaty"  between  the  Provinces  and  the  United  States. 

The  law  of  Nova  Scotia  relative  to  coal  mines,  as  well  as  to  all  other  mines  other  than 
gold,  may  be  briefly  summed  up  thus  :  The  first  step  to  be  taken  by  the  party  intending  to  invest 
is  to  apply  to  the  department  of  mines  for  a  "license  to  search"  upon  whatever  ground  he 
may  have  selected  for  that  purpose.  The  application  must  be  accompanied  by  a  payment 
of  $20,  and  the  filing  of  a  bond  t.o  make  good  any  damage  done  to  private  lands,  and  the 
license  is  not  to  cover  more  than  five  square  miles,  and  it  holds  good  for  one  year.  At  the 
expiration  of  this  license,  the  holder  thereof  may,  out  of  the  ground  covered  by  it,  select  one 
square  mile ;  this  area  to  be  enlarged  under  certain  special  circumstances,  over  which,  upon 
the  payment  of  $50,  he  can  obtain  a  "license  to  work,"  which  holds  good  for  two  years.  If, 
during  this  period,  he  shall  have  commenced  "effective  mining  operations,"  he  is  entitled 
to  receive  a  lease,  terminable  in  1886,  but  renewable.  On  such  leases  there  is  reserved  a 
royalty  of  10  cents  on  every  ton  of  2,240  pounds  of  coal;  eight  cents  on  every  ton  of  iron, 
and  five  per  cent,  on  all  other  minerals  except  gold,  the  royalty  upon  which  has  already  been 
stated. 

I  may  here  add  a  few  remarks  as  to  the  presence  in  Nova  Scotia  of  the  other  more  important 
reserved  minerals.  Copper  has  been  found  at  several  localities.  Mining  operations  havo 
been  carried  on  for  some  years  past  in  a  bed  of  cupriferous  clay,  containing  nodules  of 
copper,  in  the  carboniferous  formations,  at  Tatamagouche,  Colchester  county.  As  this 
happens  to  be  a  place  where  the  minerals  have  been  granted  with  the  soil,  I  have  no  reliable 
means  of  knowing  what  degree  of  success  has  attended  the  venture.  What  were  considered 
promising  indications  were  found  a  few  years  since,  at  Cheticamp,  Inverness,  and  a  Copper 
Mining  Company  commenced  work  there ;  but  their  operations  have  not  yet  proved  success- 
ful. This  mineral  is  also  found  in  thin  veins  and  detached  masses,  in  the  form  of  native 
copper  and  of  the  gray  sulphuret,  green  carbonate,  and  oxide  of  that  metal,  at  numerous 
,  points  in  the  trap  rock,  on  the  shores  of  the  bay  of  Fundy.  At  some  localities  in  the  vicinity 
of  Poison's  lake  and  the  head  waters  of  Salmon  river,  oil  the  confines  of  Antigonish  and 
Guysborough  counties,  there  are  to  be  found  large  and  numerous  masses  of  copper  ore, 
yielding  from  5  to  20  per  cent,  of  metal ;  but  no  real  lode  has  yet  been  discovered. 

At  Gay's  river,  near  the  northern  bounds  of  Halifax  county,  the  boulders  of  lower  carbon- 
iferous rock  scattered  through  the  surface  soil  over  a  tract  of  country  considerable  as  to 
extent,  as  well  as  the  soil  itself,  are  profusely  interspersed  with  galena,  seeming  to  indicate 
the  vicinity  of  an  important  lode  of  that  mineral.  Washed  samples  of  this  ore  afforded  17£ 
percent,  of  lead,  and  this  lead  gave  Hi  ounces  per  ton  of  silver. 

The  only  other  useful  mineral  known  to  exist  in  quantity  in  Nova  Scotia,  of  which  mention 
need  be  made,  is  iron.  On  this  head  I  will  make  some  extracts  from  a  work  by  the  writer 
of  this  paper,  entitled  "  Nova  Scotia  considered  as  a  field  for  emigration,"  published  in 
1858: 

The  most  western  deposit  of  any  extent  yet  discovered  occurs  at  Clements,  on  the  south  side  of  Annapolis 
basin.  The  outcrop  of  the  vein  may  be  traced  on  the  surface  for  the  distance  of  a  mile,  with  an.  average 
thickness  of  niup  feet  six  inches.  The  ore  consists  of  scales  of  specular  iron,  firmly  cemented  together  and 
mixed  with  silicious  and  calcareous  matter,  and  it  has  been  iu%art  converted  by  heat  into  magnetic  iron 
ore.  It  yields  from  33  to  40  per  cent.  o_f  cast  iron,  the  quality  of  which  is  said  to  be  very  superior.  *  *  * 
*  *  *  A  bed  of  iron  ore  occurs  at  Xictau,  also  in  the  county  of  Annapolis,  and  is  similar  to 'that  found 


G8 


RESOURCES   OF   STATES   AND   TERRITORIES 


at  Clements.   There  arc  several  parallel  veins  at  this  place,  varying  from  4  to  10  feet  in  thickness.    Six  of  the*e 
have  been  examined  and  accurately  defined,  and  the  ore  contains  r>.">.  :J  per  cent,  of  iron  of  excellent  quality. 

The  next  great  deposit  of  iron  ore  which  we  will  mention  is  found  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Cobequid 
hills.  This  deposit,  considering  its  extent  and  the  variety  and  quality  of  its  ores,  may  he  pronounced  the 
most  important  in  the  Province.  That  part  of  it  to  which  attention 'has  been  more  particularly  directed 
lies  between  the  Debert  river  and  a  point  some  two  miles  westward  of  the  Great  Village  river,  a  distance. 
in  all,  of  about  10  miles.  Between  these  points  the  vein  extends  nearly  east  and  west,  and  at  a  distance  of 
from  five  to  eight  miles  from  the  shore  of  Cobequid  bay.  It  consist's  of  a  veinstone  of  the  species  of  ore 
called  ankerite,  associated  with  xpathoxe  iron,  surrounding  and  including  a  number  of  other  varieties  of  ore. 
The  whole  vein  is  of  very  irregular  width.  At  one  spot  on  the  bank  of  the  Great  Village  river  it  is 
330  feet  wide,  whilst  at  another,  not  far  from  the  most  eastern  point  to  which  the  vein  has  been  traced,  it 
attains  a  breadth  of  over  500  feet.  Its  breadth  is  unequal  at  various  intermediate  points  where  measure- 
ments have  been  made.  The  length  of  this  vein  is  not  yet  ascertained  ;  its  continuation  may  be  seen  near 
Jbive  islands,  20  miles  westward  of  Great  Village  river,  so  that  the  vein  is  known  to  extend  a  distance  of 
about  30  miles  in  length.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  upon  continued  examination  it  will  be  found  to 
extend  along  the  whole  length  of  the  Cobequid  range  of  hills.  *  *  *  The  iron  made  from  these  ores  is 
found  to  be  equal  to  any  in  the  Avorld  in  the  rare  properties  requisite  for  making  good  steel.  x  *  * 

A  very  extensive  deposit  of  iron  ore,  of  a  description  similar  to  that  of  Nictau,  is  found  at  East  river, 
Pictpu,  and  within  10  miles  distance  of  the  Albion  coal  mines  on  that  river.  The  vein  at  this  place  is  It: 
feet  in  thickness.  The  situation  of  this  deposit,  like  that  of  the  Cobequid  hills,  affords  every  facility  for  the 
profitable  manufacture  of  iron. 

Iron  ore,  in  the  forms  of  red  ochre,  red  hematite,  and  brown  hematite,  is  found  on  the  Shubenacadie  near 
.  its  mouth.  It  has  also  been  found  in  small  quantities  in  several  other  places,  affording  good  reason  to  believe 
that  further  extensive  deposits  of  that  valuable  mineral  will  be  discovered  upon  a  more  general  research  into 
the  mineral  wealth  of  Kova  Scotia. 

Recent  explorations  have  fully  verified  this  prediction  ;  yet  Londonderry,  on  the  southern 
flank  of  the  Cobequids,  is  the.  only  place  in  the  province  where  an  iron  mine  is  worked.  At 
this  place,  known  as  the  "Acadian  mines,"  blastfurnaces  were  erected  about  17  years  since, 
and  the  manufacture  of  charcoal  iron  has  continued  ever  since. 

I  will  only  add  in  conclusion  that  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  the  surface  of  Nova  Scotia, 
taken  as  a  whole,  is  yet  an  unexplored  territory,  and  that  this  remark  applies  especially  to 
the  large  area  of  metamoiphic  rock,  in  the  explored  portions  of  which  gold  and  iron  are  found 
in  such  abundance  and  under  such  favoring  circumstances.  From  what  has  already  been 
discovered  it  is  only  reasonable  to  believe  that  the  country  abounds  to  an  almost  singular 
degree  in  mineral  wealth. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient,  servant, 

PIERCE  S.  HAMILTON. 

J.  W.  TAYLOR,  Esq.,  Washington.     ' 


SECTION    V. 

i 

Comparative  statement  of  rates  of  duly  on  imjwrts  between  the  United  States 

and  Victoria,  Australia. 


Articles 

Rates  of  duty. 

United  States. 

Victoria. 

Beer,  ale,  porter,  &c.   in  bottles 

35  cents  per  gallon 

12  cts  per  gallon. 

casks 

20  cents  per  gallon                  . 

Do 

Butter  

4  cents  per  pound  

2  cts  per  pound. 

Bacon 

Do                  ' 

Cigars  ...  

$3  per  pound 

fsl  ^0  per  pound. 

Coffee  1. 

5  cents  per  pound 

4  cts  per  pound. 

Cocoa  . 

8  cents  per  pound 

Do. 

Chocolate    . 

G  cents  per  pound 

Do 

Candles,  adamantine  

5  cents  per  pound           ...... 

2  cts  per  pound. 

8  cents  per  pound 

Do. 

all  other  kinds 

24-  cents  per  pound 

Do. 

4  cents  per  pound 

Do. 

Confectionery,  value  above  30  cents 

50  per  cent 

Do. 

per  pound. 
Doors 

24  cents  each. 

Fruits,  dried  

J  0  per  cent           ......  ......  .... 

2  cts  per  pound. 

preserved  

30  per  cent         ..    .   ....     ...... 

Do. 

Hams  

2  cents  per  pound   .       ...   ...... 

Do. 

Lard  • 

2  cents  per  pound            ....  ..... 

Do. 

Maccuroni  and  vermicelli  .  . 

30  i>er  cent.  . 

Do. 

EAST    OF   THE   ROCKY    MpUNTAINS.  69 

Comparative  statement  of  rates  of  duty  on  imports,  Sfc. — Continued. 


Articles. 


Rates  of  duty. 


United  States. 


Victoria. 


Nuts. 


Meats  and  fish,  prepared 

Soap,  toilet  and  shaving 

not  otherwise  provided  for 

Starch... 

Sweetmeats 

Wheat 

Rye  and  barley 

Indian  corn,  maize,  and  oats 

Hops 

Malt..." 

Oil,  illuminating 

petroleum  or  rock 

crude  coal 

linseed,  flaxseed,  hempseed,  and 
rapeseed. 

neatsfoot,  whale,  &c 

crotou 

olive,  salad,  and  castor 

cloves 


cognac 

anise 

almonds • 

amber,  crude 

rectified 

bay  leaves 

bergamot  and  cassia 

caraway,  citronella,  fennel,  lem- 
on, and  orange, 
fruit 


cinnamon 


cubebs 

juniper 

thyme 

roses * 

valerian 

not  otherwise  provided  for  . . . 

Opium 

for  smoking 

Rice 

Salt 

beef  and  pork 

mackerel 

salmon 

fish,  all  other  kinds  in  barrels 

Snuff 

Spirits  and  wines 

Wines  in  bottles 

Cologne  and  other  perfumery 

Sugar 

Molasses,  sirup  of  sugar  cane 

Tea 

Tobacco,  manufactured 

unmanufactured 

Vegetables 

Varnish 

Vinegar 

Wood,  manufactured 


2  cents  per  pound. 


30  per  cent 

10  cents  per  Ib.  and  25  per  cent  . 
I  cent  per  pound  and  30  per  cent 
3  cents  per  pound  and  20  per  cent 

40  per  cent 

20  cents  per  bushel 

15  cents  per  bushel 

10  cents  per  bushel . 

5  cents  per  pound 

20  per  cent 

40  cents  per  gallon 

20  cents  per  gallon 

Jo  cents  per  gallon 

23  cents  per  gallon.., 


20  per  cent 

$1  per  pound 

jjjil  per  gallon 

$2  per  pound 

!|>4  per  ounce 

50  cents  per  pound. 
$1  50  per  pound  ... 
10  cents  per  pound. 
20  cents  per  pound . 
$17  50  per  pound.  . 

$1  per  pound 

50  cents  per  pound . 


$2  per  pound 

$2  50  per  pound 

$1  per  pound  • 

25  cents  per  pound 

30  cents  per  pound 

$  L  50  per  ounce 

$1  50  per  pound ..„ 

50  per  cent 

$2  50  per  pound 

100  per  cent 

2£  cents  per  pound 

18  and  24  cents  per  cwt 

1  cent  per  pound 

$2  per  barrel 

$>3  per  barrel 

$1  50  per  barrel 

50  cents  per  pound 

20  cents  to  $2  50  per  gallon 

$3  to  $6  per  dozen 

$3  per  gallon  and  50  per  cent 

3  to  5  cents  per  pound 

2^  cents  per  pound 

25  cents  per  pound , 

50  cents  per  pound , 

35  cents  per  pound 

10  per  cent ! 

50  cts  pr  gal.  and  20  and  25  pr  cent. 

10  cents  per  gallon 

20  per  cent „. 


Not  including  co- 
coa, 2  cts  per  Ib. 
2  cts  per  pound. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
18  cts  per  cwt. 

Do. 

Do. 

4  cts  per  pound. 
12  cts  per  bushel, 
6  cts  per  gallon. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
D> 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
$240  per  pound. 

Do. 

48  cts  per  cwt. 
$4  80  per  ton. 
$1  20  per  cwt. 

Dof 

Do. 

Do. 

48  cts  per  pound. 
$2  40  per  gallon. 
72  cts  per  gallon. 

Do. 
72  cts  per  cwt. 

Do. 

6  cts  per  pound. 
48  cts  per  pound. 
24  cts  per  pound. 
2  cts  per  pound. 
48  cts  per  gallon. 
12  cts  per  gallon. 
Window  sashes, 
24  cts  per  pair. 


70  RESOURCES    OF    STATES    AND    TERRITORIES 

Comparative  statement  of  rates  f>f  duty  on  imports,  fyc.— Continued. 


Articles. 


Rates  of  duty. 


United  States. 


Victoria. 


Articles  of  gold  ................. 

silver  and  platina  ..... 

Apparel  and  slops  made  up  wholly  or 

in  part  of  silk. 
Apparel,  &c.,  made  up  wholly  or  in 

part  of  wool. 
Apparel   &c.t  made  up  wholly  or  in 

part  of  linen. 
Boots  and  shoes  .................. 

Brushes  .......................... 

Building  materials,  boards,  planks, 

staves,  scantlings,  hewn  and  sawed 

timber,  &c. 
Carpeting,  value  $1  25  and  under  ____ 

over  $  I  25  ........  . 

various  kinds  ........  _____ 

Oilcloths  .........................  . 

Carriages  ......................... 

Copperware,  brassware,  and  tinware  . 
Cordage  .......................... 

China  and  porcelain  ................ 

Earthenware  ...................... 

Furniture,  household  ............... 

Furs  .............................. 

Glass  ............................. 

Glassware  .......................  .. 

Gloves  ............................ 

Glue  .......  •-  ...................... 

Hats,  caps,  and  bonnets  ............ 

Hosiery  ........................... 

Jewelry  ........................... 

Lead,  sheet,  pipe,  &c  .1  ............ 

Leatherware  ...................... 

Marble,  manufactures  of  ............ 

white  statuary,  &c  ......... 

Matches  .......................... 

Metal,  manufactures  of  ............. 

Millinery,  not  otherwise  provided  for. 
Musical  instruments  ................ 

Tapioca  and  spices  ................. 


Arrowroot  ......................... 

Pepper  .............  .  ............. 

Ginger  ______  ...  ___  _____  ........  ___ 

Plated  metal  ...................... 

baddies  and  harness  ................ 

Tarpaulins  ........................ 

Japanned  ware  .  -.  .................. 

Wooden  and  other  toys  ............. 

Watches  .......................... 

Clocks  .......  .  ..  ................... 

Willow  and  wooden  ware  ........... 

Woollen  blankets  .................. 

Woe  lien  bags  ...................... 

Anchors  .......................... 

Animals  and  birds  ...........  *  ....... 

Books  ............................ 

Bristles  .......................  ____ 

hair  ....................... 

Baggage,  personal  ................. 


40  per  cent. 

40  per  cent 

50  and  60  per  cent 


24  cents  per  Ib.  and  40  per  cent 
35  and  40  per  cent 


30  per  cent . 
40  per  cent . 
20  per  cent . 


70  cents  per  square  yard 

80  cents  per  square  yard 

35  to  50  per  cent 

30  to  40  per  cent 

35  per  cent 

35  and  40  per  cent 

2|  and  3  cents  per  pound  .'. 

50  per  cent 

25  per  cent 

35  per  cent '. 

10  to  20  per  cent 

f  to  60  cents  per  square  foot 

35  to  40  per  cent 

50  per  cent 

20  per  cent 

35  to  60  per  cent 

20  cents  per  ib.  and  30  per  cent. . 

25  per  cent 

2f  cents  per  pound 

35  to  50  per  cent 

fiO  per  cent 

$1  per  cubic  foot  and  20  per  cent 

35  per  cent 

35  per  cent 

35  per  cent 

30  per  cent 

20  per  cent • 

14  cents  per  pound 

30  per  cent 

18  cents  per  pound 

50  per  cent 

35  per  cent 

35  per  cent 

20  per  cent 

40  per  cent 

00  per  cent  — 

25  per  cent 

35  jier  cent 

35  per  cent 

24  cents  per  Ib.  and  40  per  cent. .. 

24  cents  per  Ib.  and  40  per  cent. .. 

2£  cents  per  pound 

Exempt 

25  per  cent 

J  5  cents  per  pound 

1  cent  per  pound 

Exempt 


$1  92  pr  oz.  troy. 
24ctsproz.  troy. 
10  per  cent 

Do. 
Do.' 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 


Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 
5  per  ce'it. 
Exempt. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

D). 

Do. 


EAST    OF    THE    EOCKY    MOUNTAINS.  71 

Comparative  statement  of  rates  of  duty  on  imports,  fyc. — Continued. 


Articles. 

Rates  of  duty. 

United  States. 

Victoria. 

Chain  cables          ........       ... 

2£  cents  per  pound 

Coal  bituminous                               * 

$1  25  per  ton 

Do 

40  cents  per  ton  

Do 

Coke  •  

25  per  cent 

Do 

Coins  and  bullion 

Exempt 

Do 

Copper  ore 

25  per  cent 

Do 

when  imported  for  U.  S.  mint- 

Exempt 

Do 

Cotton,  in  the  piece                     .   

35  per  cent 

Do 

raw  .... 

3  cents  per  pound 

Do 

Fish,  fresh 

50  cents  per  cwt 

Do 

Flax  

$15  per  ton  .. 

Do 

Guano  and  other  manures          

Exempt 

Do 

Hatter's  plush   .. 

25  per  cent 

Do 

Hemp 

$10  to  $40  per  cwt 

Do 

Hides  and  skius  

j  0  per  cent 

Do 

Iron,  scrap  

$8  per  ton 

Do 

ni  (T 

$9  per  ton 

Do 

re  

bar 

Do 

rod  

1^-  and  J-J  cents  per  pound 

Do 

hoop  .. 

]4  and  !§•  cents  per  pound 

Do 

sheet 

ji  to  g  cents  per  pound 

Do 

railroad  bars 

T>o 

Jute  

$10  per  ton 

Do 

Kerosene  shale  ..     »  . 

40  cents  per  gallon 

Do 

1  \  cents  per  pound 

Do 

bars  

2  cents  per  pound 

Do 

scrap  

J-J  cents  per  pound 

Do 

Linen  

35  to  40  per  cent 

Do 

Oil,  palm  and  cocoa  

10  per  cent    . 

Do 

20  per  cent 

Do 

wrapping-  .1  

30  per  cent  .  . 

Do 

Pitch  .. 

20  per  cent 

Do 

Plants,  medicinal  

20  per  cent 

Do 

ornamental  .  

30  per  cent 

Do 

for  dying  

Exempt  

Do 

Printer's  ink            ... 

35  per  cent 

T)o 

Quicksilver 

15  per  cent 

T)o 

Rao's  

Exempt 

Do 

Resin  . 

20  per  cent 

Do 

Saltpetre 

3  cents  per  pound 

"Do 

Soda,  ash  

•J  cent  per  pound 

Do 

caustic  

1  cent  per  pound 

Do 

Specimens  natural  history,  &c  

Exempt  

Do 

Steel 

2J  to  34  cts  pr  Ib  and  10  pr  cent 

"Do 

Stones,  building1.  

20  per  cent 

Do 

Sulphur,  flour  of 

<1>20  per  ton  and  15  per  cent 

Do 

Tallow..   .. 

1  cent  per  pound 

Do 

Tar  

20  per  cent 

Do 

Timber,  logs 

20  per  cent 

Do 

Tin  ?  

"Wire,  steel 

1  5  per  cent  .-  
24-  and  3  cts  pr  Ib  and  20  pr  cent 

Do. 
"Do 

Wool  

3  to  10  cts  per  Ib   and  10  per  cent 

Do 

Woollen  cloths 

24  cents  per  Ib   and  40  per  cent 

Do 

3  cents  per  pound  

Do 

INDEX: 


Page. 


Letter  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  

1 

r\  he  Great  Plains  

;{ 

New  Mexico  

l 

Colorado  

<; 

Wvoming  or  Lincoln  

1-2 

Montana  

1-2 

Minnesota  T  

15 

Canadian  Mines  .. 

.  it; 

Nova  Scotia  

:  is 

Alleghany  Gold  Fields  

ID 

Metallurgical  Treatment  

21 

Taxation  

-21 

Transportation  

Treasure  Product  of  the  World  

2* 

'2(5 

General  Observations  

:;o 

APPENDIX.— SECTION  I. 

Artesian  Wells... 


SECTION  II. 

Lignites  of  the  West , 85 

SECTION  III. 

Montana,  mineral  resources  of X 

historical  account  of .-)8 

area  of 3D 

discovery  of  gold  in 

population  of 40 

physical  geography  of - 40 

geology  of ..-. 43 

mining  regions  of 44 

distribution  of  metals  and  minerals  in 45 

gold  product  of 51 

Ai  genta,  smelting  works  in 54 

copper  in 54 

coal  in 54 

cost  of  mining,  milling,  and  smelting,  in 55 

milling  in 55 

smelting  in f 55 

other  resources  of $5 

SECTION  IV. 

Nova  Scotia,  gold  mines  of *. 

abstract  of  gold  mining,  statistics  of 

mines  other  than  gold,  in  2^'i. G4 

SECTION  V. 

Comparative  statement  of  rates  of  duty  between  the  United  States  and  Victoria, 

Australia : 68 


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